Lone Soldier at School
by Kai Yukimura
Summary: Hope is a rich,smart,fourteen year old boy who begins his stay at Chocobo College School. Many pick on him and bully him because he is a kid. He meets some new friends and a girl who was in the military and is the most feared one in the entire school. Fun
1. Prologue

**Summary: Hope is a smart fourteen year old who managed to skip high school and go to college. Though he doesn't act like it. His father owning a expensive company and living in a wealthy home, he had no problem getting into Cocoon's top colledge. Chocobo College School, expert on any catagory. Yet he is also the biggest loser in school because he is younger then every body else. He some how gets to be friends with the most popular group in the school. Call themselves Team Nora or so says one of the members, Snow. Hope enjoys his time with them but when he meets one of the group members who seems distant from any of them, things just go upside down. She use to be in the military and is the most feared in the whole school! Of course, how was he going to get out of the soldier's way if he falls in love with the most dangerous student at the school? Rated T for yuri, light sexual moments, and little bits of cuss words.**

**Kai: Hey guys :D Well this time I am actually going to start a story on FF13. Yes Yes I know 'Ewwww your doing a school one.....how lame!' buuut had this idea for awhile soooo ya and I am only on chapter 11 so I am not going to bother with messing up the actual story. Sorry I don't like it cause when I finish the game I am going to call myself lame and loooooser. Just how it is :D. Okay basically this focus is on Lightning/Hope. But there are two other pairings. There are Fang/Vanille (who I adore :D), and of course Snow/Serah. Of course there is going to be twists and turns and blah blah but you know XD Just the heads up on the pairings. Yes it has yuri but I like the pairing so there. Yes I made it college instead of high school blehhh. I was trying to avoid changing their ages as MUCH as possible. I mean every one, except Vanille and Hope, is too old for high school. Lightning is like twenty something. I don't know you guys can give me a opinion whether I should change their ages. I just wanted to keep it like the game had it like. But I will change it if you guys want me too. Don't hurt me cause this is really short. It is only a prologue. Trust me it will get longer and less of me chatting like this.**

Prologue

Why? Just why did his dad have to make him go to college?! He was only fourteen for Bahamut's sake! His father was Bartholomew Estheim who owned Moogle Works, the most popular company of pretty much anything you wanted. Known to be filthy rich and also the mayor of this city. He could pretty much get away with anything really. Even get his smart fourteen year old son into the most popular and high class college in Cocoon. Chocobo College School, you could study any thing you wanted there. Scientific, Mathematics, Physical Education, Acting, Dancing, Robotics, even Chocobos! What was he here to study you ask? Well to be honest, he wasn't sure. But he did hold a interest in Chocobos and other creatures. His mother had always loved them and would often take him to see them. So maybe that is why he held a interest in them. Sure he thought this place would be alright but he never expected to find what he did. Who was this boy exactly? Well his name is Hope Estheim.


	2. Chapter 1: First Day

**Kai: Hey guys :D YAY REVIEWS already O.O and I HAD NO FRICKEN CLUE VANILLE WAS THAT OLD O____O I thought she was the same age as Hope XD Woooooow Thank you Random Reader that I have no nickname for, for the ages of them all :3 it helps. And well I wasn't planning to put Dajh in much XD cause he is like in kindergarten. Sazh will just bring him every once in awhile XD and Durandal II I am happy you like my other fics :D And as for my habit of packing words in. Oh and about all the characters wear the clothes they did in the game. It's just how I am use to typing and reading XD I usually only space when they start talking. Cause I try to be descriptive on stuff XD So yaaaaa I try but my fingers are evil D:**

**Raines: Your bizarre**

**Kai: O__O Why are you here DX?**

**Raines: Your typing me -.-**

**Kai: O.O CURSE FINGERS**

**Raines: o.o?**

**Kai: I SHALL KILL YOU AGAIN IN FF13 MWHAHAHAHA**

**Raines: Whats the point in that? I will kill you so ha!**

**Kai: No Lightning and Fang shall kill you! **

**Raines: Oh just shut up and get on with it -.-**

**Kai: fine fine -.-**

Chapter 1: First Day

Hope stared at the large gate before him. Here he was at the gate to Chocobo College School. The gate was about eight feet tall with a cemented wall surrounding the building. This place was as big as a city itself! It had a football field, a soccer field, and baseball field, a softball field, eight tennis courts, a batmitten court, a volleyball court, a beach, a river, a chocobo field with a large stables and training courses, shops, a battle arena, a police office, a firefighter house and many other places that were part of the school. Of course the building was huge too. It was filled with millions of students that were older then him. People passed by him going out and into the school.

"Why did dad have to send me here?" mumbled Hope as he stared at the college.

He was almost positive that he was going to picked on daily if he just set a foot inside. Sure, he was only smart because he studied so hard so he could get out of school as fast as he could and now his father sent him here. He at least had friends back at regular school but in college he had no one. He could see it now, getting stepped on like a small ant. He prayed to great Bahamut that he wouldn't get killed the first day.

"Okay I just need to look straight ahead and just walk inside. I am going to be alright, besides how bad could my first day be?" said Hope as he talked himself to calm his nerves. He pulled his golden colored book, that he was holding, closer to his chest and made sure that his backpack was tightly fastened against his back. He then started off through the gate.

Yet he didn't even make it all the way through before he was stopped by older guys. As Hope looked up at them and examined him, he knew that they weren't very friendly. They were at least 5'8 feet tall and both looked like the age of twenty one. The taller one was a well muscled man with spiky red hair and fierce golden hawk eyes. He had dragon tattoos going down his arms and a scar on his cheek and across his lips. He had a rugged face. He wore a black t-shirt with a behemoth on the front. He had black jeans and black, red, and white shoes.

The other one was more fat than muscle yet he still looked strong. He had chubby cheeks with a redder nose than most. Velvet eyes that seemed hungry for something that Hope would rather find out. Large hands that could easily wrap around someones neck and crush it into dust. He wore a black and red striped shirt with black sweats. His brown shoes looked like they would fall apart anytime.

Hope slightly gulped as he looked up at them nervously and jumped a bit when the red haired man spoke.

"What's a twerp like you doing here? This isn't a playground or a diaper changing area. Why don't you run along squirt." sneered the red haired man and made a shooing motion with his right hand as he held a cocky grin on his face.

"Ya why don't cha run along squirt?" said the fatter man with a dumb smirk on his face.

As Hope examined them, he knew the fatter man was the dumbest one. He looked at them nervously as he pulled his book closer to his chest.

"I'm sorry....but I have to go in there. I-I'll be late for class if I don't..." Hope said nervously as he green eyes gazed up at them.

The two men looked at him then at each other. Then they busted up laughing hysterically. The laughed so hard it looked like they were choking. The red haired man then pointed to Hope as he laughed.

"You? Go to school here? Isn't that a riot!" he laughed.

The fatter man laughed then stopped as he seemed to realize something. "Hey Gek, didn't the principal say something about having a new student that was a fourteen year old?" he asked.

The one known as Gek stopped laughing as he thought then looked at Hope with a calculating gaze. He then nodded as he seemed to remember also, gently smacking his right fist into the palm of his left hand.

"Hey your right for once, Zeeke. I remember that announcement. I thought he was kidding." Gek said then stared at hope and examined the young boy up and down. "What's your name, squirt?" he asked

Hope paused. He just knew they would laugh at his name. Lots of people did. Yet as Gek barked out a order that said 'Now kid!' he suddenly blurted it out.

"Hope....Hope Estheim." the silver blonde boy answered nervously as he tried to keep his hands from shaking.

Again they started laughing hysterically and could of almost rolled around on the ground in their laughter. As they tried to catch their breaths they looked at him with smirks on their faces.

"Hope? That's a girls name! And you do kind of look like a girl!" laughed Gek as he held his sides together, in a attempt to keep the pain away.

"A girly boy, Hope!" laughed Zeeke as he pointed a finger right in front of Hope's face.

Hope sighed a bit as he looked at them, he looked at his watch seeing that class was about to start then looked up at them. "Um ya...funny....well I better get to class...nice meeting you." said Hope friendly like though he had a bad feeling. As he tried to walk passed them, he was only roughly pushed to the ground as he fell flat on his back.

He blinked in shock as he looked up to see Gek and Zeeke looming over the boy. He tried sitting up but Gek slammed his foot against the younger boy's chest. Hope yelped as he tried to pry Gek's foot off of him and struggle free, but he wasn't getting anywhere.

"Awww what's the rush little boy? We just want to meet the new kid. You must be special for getting here at such a early age. And you have such a cute face." smirked Gek as he leaned down and placed a finger under the boys chin.

"Your kinda cute. And such a little weakling aren't you? I think I wouldn't mind screwing you." Gek laughed in amusement at Hope's wide scared eyes.

"I thought you didn't swing that way Gek?" asked Zeeke blinking at his buddy.

"No not normally but this kid kind of looks like a girl. I think I could make a exception." Gek grinned as Hope tried frantically to get the heck out of there. "How bout it squirt? Wanna skip school and have a real lesson?" he laughed then almost froze when he heard a feminine voice.

"Your in the way. Move." said the female voice.

Hope blinked open his eyes and turned his head to look behind him and saw a twenty one looking year old girl. She had light pink hair and sky blue eyes. She wore some strange clothing. Something that looked like a white tank top and black shorts. He then saw a sword strapped on her hip and he froze. Who carried a sword to school?! He instantly felt the weight off of him and looked up to see Gek and Zeeke running for their lives.

"Um were sorry Lightning! We'll be on our way! Good day and goodbye!" Gek called from a far distance as he ran and ran.

Hope blinked with a confused look as he sat up and then saw that the girl, that must be known as Lightning, walk passed him without taking a glance to him. He blinked again as he stared at after her. She was very beautiful but she also looked very intimidating. She had this aura that made you want to run as fast as you could. Yet he felt like he had to thank her for saving him.

"Um....thank you..." he said softly but loud enough for her to hear.

He saw her stop but she didn't turn around. He then heard her say something.

"I didn't help you. I only wanted them out of my way. So save your gratitude." she answered then walked on, soon disappearing into the building.

Hope just sat there and stared at where she had gone. For some reason he was attracted to this mysterious woman. Yet she also felt dangerous. So far, today hadn't been the best day. He sighed then froze as he heard the bell ring. Just great, now he was late to class on the first day. Can things get any worse?


	3. Chapter 2: Finding Friends

**Kai: Hey guys :D Welllllll O.O ya. I'm sorry that I have made grammer or spelling mistakes but I can't help it. I rush these things cause I have limited time and I have no time to go around checking every single grammar mistake, your lucky I manage to put anything at all. And I dislike Hope because of one thing. Sure I understand that he is mad about his mom but he was mad because Snow MADE his mom go. He did not! Snow didn't really want her to go! I would understand if he was mad at Snow because he saw Snow drop her but that's not how he took it! And Snow even agreed! WTF?! Grrrr. Lightning's story is eh. She gets better but she did thought her own sister was lying. She abandoned Hope by himself where he could of been attacked by a monster and we know in the beginning he dies allot. Still love her though :D Vanille is eh. Fang I don't really know yet till I get to their village I guess. Sazh's story was awesome! I mean when he found out what Vanille did, it was realistic. It's like, this person is his friend, but he hates this person right now because she caused what happened to his son. So he wanted to kill her, but he couldn't cause she was his friend, then tried to kill himself, still couldn't do it. It was very emotional and I can see that happening in real life. So Sazh's storyline is the best so far in my opinion. Snow is okay. I like him because he is committed to Serah :D Hey btw. DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT ALL THE CHARACTERS EYE COLORS ARE?! I know Hope and Lightning but I don't know anyone ' DX And I'm to lazy to go and look on the game. Anyways on with the story.**

Chapter 2: Finding Friends

Hope took deep breaths as he was bend over with his hands on his knees. There he stood in his class. Everyone staring at him with unblinking eyes. He had run as fast as he could and of course he got lost. Class was already almost over. His body felt sore and tired after the very long run, he wasn't use to exercising that much. As he felt curious and laughing eyes pierce in him, he managed to catch his breath and finally stand up straight to look at his teacher. The teacher was sort of staring at him with a curious gaze. He was black and he had a black beard. He had huge puffed out brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was a tall man and looked around forty. The teacher curiously raised a eyebrow at the boy till he finally opened his mouth to say something to the out of breath boy.

"Well you must be that kid that I heard all about now arent you?" the teacher said as he looked at Hope.

Hope nodded slowly as he glanced over the large classroom, filled with people who he didn't recognize. Then looked back up at the teacher.

The man grinned, his white teeth shinning. "Well nice to meet you.... Hope Estheim. Never did I expect Sir Estheim's boy here just yet." he laughed. "By the way, I am Sazh Katzroy! Sure I might be a teacher but everyone just calls me Sazh." bellowed the older man.

Hope nodded a bit. Slowly bowing his head a bit in respect. "Um... nice to meet you... Sazh. Sorry I'm late.... got a little hung up." he said.

Sazh waved it off and snorted. "Well I expected that. With all these trouble making kids running loose, I would be surprised if you were on time." he laughed then started scanning the class. "Now to find you a place to sit." he said as he looked.

Hope blinked then looked around at the many faces for a empty seat but it was hard to see with so many people around. The class looked full, but Hope jumped when Sazh suddenly spoke loudly.

"Ah-ha! You can sit back there!" said Sazh as he pointed to the back corner of the room. It was on the right side of the room as Hope stood at the door and looked across to look at the farthest corner.

There was four students at every table and all faced toward the front of the classroom. Yet Hope noticed that there was only one head that he saw at where Sazh was pointing to. Hope then glanced up at Sazh when he heard the teacher speak again.

"Ya you can sit by Lightning! She's never had anybody sit by her. Everyone has been too scared to sit by the girl. Well except her buddies but they aren't in this class. Try not to get on her bad side or you might be on the school lunch's next menu." grinned Sazh innocently as Hope took a nervous gulp.

Hope looked around seeing the other students whisper and gawk in surprise. He took a deep breath then slowly started down the middle strip that split the two rows of desks apart. As he passed by them he heard them say that he was going to be a goner by the end of the day. Some said he might last two days. This was kind of starting to creep him out. Who was Lightning exactly? He had no clue. All he knew was that she carried a sword, was beautiful, and was very intimidating and cold. As he finally reached to the back, he saw Lighting sitting at the farthest desk that sat next to the window. She was looking out the window as if she didn't hear Sazh's announcement. Hope stared at the beauty for a moment till he timidly took the seat next to her and set his stuff down and then sat down. He looked at her and she simply glanced at him then out the window again. Hope felt like that he was basically being ignored. Hope sighed as he looked foreword as people stared at him and Lightning. He blinked nervously and almost melted into his seat. They chatted and whispered saying stuff like,

"Wow, look how small the kid is. He is awfully young and looks so adorable! I wonder how he got here? Isn't he the son of that famous business person? I bet you that Lightning will kill him after two days!" then Lightning turned her cold blue gaze onto the classroom and they instantly shut up and shuffled around and turned around to look at the front in silence. Her gaze scanned the area then they landed on the silver blonde boy that sat next to her.

Hope softly gulped but he smiled friendly. "Um...hi.." he greeted but all he received was a brisk nod then Lightning turned her attention back at the window.

Hope sighed softly. She wasn't very talkative and everyone seemed to fear her. He wondered why that was. He then jumped when the bell rang. He mentally smacked himself for being so late, then he noticed no one was getting up and walking out of class. He looked around curiously then turned his head to see Lightning silently stand up. She motionlessly grabbed her bag then walked passed him. She then silently walked down the ile as the other students took glances at her. Her bag hung loosely over her shoulder, against her shoulder cape. Everything remained silent as she walked and Hope was confused on this but he didn't get up the courage to make a single sound. The second Lightning exited the room, Hope was mercilessly bombarded with faces of people and their chatter. He was touched, he was pulled, he was talked at and made fun of. Oh man and he thought this day couldn't get worse.

~Later~

Hope breathed helplessly as he wobbled into the lunch area of the building. He had managed to make a run for it. He thought they were going to rip him apart. Crazy college people. Hope held a blue tray in his hands, he had gotten chicken, smashed potato's, milk, and carrots. He looked around for a place to sit but it looked like every seat was taken by the millions of other students. He sighed as he walked around to find a place to sit. He then felt himself trip as he fell flat face on the floor and his tray of food right onto his head. He groaned and sat up, potato's dripping down his face and sticking to his poor silver blonde hair. He looked around to see people snickering at a table right next to him. He guessed that one of them tripped him. He grumbled, his emerald eyes downcast.

"Hey kid! You alright there?" asked a masculine voice from just in front of him.

Hope blinked as he looked up to see a tall muscular man. He was wearing a white trench coat with a black hat. He had blonde hair and he had a cheerful grin on his face. He slowly nodded to the older man who looked twenty one.

"Good! Those jerks are just jerks. Names Snow! Snow Villiers!" said the one known as Snow.

Hope blinked. "Um...I'm Hope...Hope Estheim." he replied.

Snow grinned. "So I have heard! Your the talk of the school right now! Come on everyone will love to meet you!" he said as he grabbed Hope and helped the boy up. Brushing food off from Hope's hair. He then took the boy's arm and practically dragged him to a table.

It had a two girls at it and Sazh, who Hope was surprised to see. One of the girls sort of looked like Lightning. As Hope was dragged, he was suddenly swung in front of Snow. Snow's hands lay on Hope shoulder's and Hope blinked as he faced the two girls and Sazh.

"Well hey boy! Kind of thought Snow here would find you." greeted Sazh with a grin.

"Well of course! Knowing all these idiots, I knew they would come after him! Hope, meet Oerba Dia Vanille and my girlfriend Serah Farron! Just call them Vanille and Serah." introduced Snow as he pointed to each of the girls he named off.

Vanille smiled brightly and cheerfully then waved her right arm back and forth wildly. "Hi Hope! It's nice to meet you!" she said perky like.

Serah smiled in greeting. "Yes very nice."

Hope blinked at these friendly people and smiled and was about to say it was nice to meet them to till he spotted a small bird pop out of Sazh's large hair. He gapped and pointed at it. "S...S....S....S....Sa...." Hope stuttered and blinked when Sazh let out a laugh.

"Oh let me guess. There is a bird in my hair right? Ya this is my little baby chocobo. We all just call him Chocobo." Sazh laughed as Chocobo flew out of his hair and right over into Hope's face.

It made a small kweh in greeting as its beady eyes looked into Hope's green ones. Hope blinked then smiled at Chocobo. "Hello Chocobo. It's nice to meet you." he greeted.

Chocobo made a kweh again with more happiness in it and flew around Hope's head and gently pecked his cheek. He twirled around then flew back to Sazh and took a dive into his hair. Hope chuckled in amusement and blinked when Snow ruffled his hair.

"Just hang out with us and you should be at least better off." said Snow with a grin.

Hope blinked in confusion. "Why?" he asked.

"Oh everyone loves us here!" said Vanille with a chuckle.

"What she is trying to say is that this group here is the most popular in the entire school." said Sazh with a yawn.

Hope blinked and his jaw dropped. Most popular?! Holy great Behemoths! Snow laughed in amusement.

"Well ya! We are the toughest group on campus! We're known as Team Nora!" Snow said as he punched the air excitedly.

Hope blinked. That was the same name of his mother. Though, she died a few months ago. Supposedly a car accident had killed his beloved mother, or at that is what every one said. Hope was lost in his thoughts till he heard Snow asking him something.

"So Hope, what do you want to be?" Snow asked as he sat down at the table and looking at the boy curiously.

Hope thought for a moment. "Well I always had a interest in Chocobo's and other creatures." he said as he sat down next to Snow.

"Really?! Me too! But I also study medics. " said Vanille cheerfully as she reached across the table and took Hope's hands. "We can study together! Isn't that great!"

Hope blinked and nodded. "Ya." he said at the girl. She didn't look that old really. She most likely was at least nineteen but she was a lot perkier than other students.

Snow grinned. "Well I want to be a hero! So I can save my family and friends and anyone who needs my help. I'll protect them at all costs." he said proudly making a thumbs up sign.

"Basically he's going to be a police officer." said Sazh, answering Hope's confused expression.

"I'm basically studying to be a doctor." smiled Serah then she looked around. "Have any of you seen my sister?"

"You have a sister?" asked Hope with curious eyes.

"Yup but she doesn't hang around us that much. Miss anti-social. Her name is Lightning Farron, but no one knows her real name and Serah won't tell anyone cause Lightning threatened to kill me if she did." said Snow as he shivered at the thought of Lightning's torture.

Hope blinked. He wouldn't of guessed that the two were sisters. They didn't act alike at all. "Why is everyone so scared of her?" asked Hope, finally getting the question off his chest.

The four looked at one another then at him. Snow answering for everyone.

"Well she worked for the military before when she was only five years old. She just quit not long ago so she could watch out for Serah and make sure I don't try anything. There are some rumors going around that she will kill anyone on spot. Get on the wrong side of her then your pretty much going to have several broken bones. When she first started school in elementary, this guy who was picking on Serah, ended up in the hospital after Lightning beat the crap out of him. Every time that Serah or Lightning is hit on by a guy, well lets just say they don't come back for a very long time. She sure isn't afraid to break several bones and make someones life a living hell." explained Snow as he watched Hope's face go pale.

"She's really nice though deep deep down." smiled Vanille and Serah nodded in agreement saying, "Don't worry, she doesn't kill anyone."

"Ya she just makes them wish they were dead." said Sazh, which earned him a slap on the head by Serah.

"Oh there she is now!" said Snow as he pointed towards Lightning who was standing next to the door that led out of the building, leaning against the wall. She had her eyes close and her arms crossed. A guy that was a head taller than her, had black smooth hair with a black leather jacket and black jeans with black shoes, walked over to her and started saying something to her.

Hope blinked as he watched and he listened to the others comments.

"Oh, Nupo is at it again. I'm surprised he tries so hard. He should know by now that he will only get his ass kicked." said Snow as he watched the scene.

"Who is he?" asked Hope, not taking his eyes off from the two.

"Oh his names Nupo. He is the school's biggest player. He goes after every girl then soon dumps them for another. He brags about he can get every girl to have sex with him. Well, except for Lightning, Serah and Vanille. He goes after Lightning the most though because she holds the biggest title of never dating anyone. He would be even more popular if he managed to tame the wild beast. But of course every time he fails." explained Snow.

Hope watched as he saw Lightning's blue eyes opened and stand up straight. He saw her stand there for a moment then he heard Sazh say something.

"Oh and she is taking her position. She is about the to swing." said Sazh like he was a baseball announcer.

Lightning then suddenly swung her right fist against Nupo's jaw, sending him flying.

"She swings! And he's outta here!!!! Lightning Farron does it again folks!" called Sazh as Nupo crashed right through the building wall and out of the building.

Hope gasped as he watched in horror. Lightning simply brushed off her gloved fist and took the same position she had before.

"That is why you don't want to mess with her. Imagine what would happen if you pissed her off?" said Snow as he looked at Lightning.

"Baaaaaaaad things would happen. Many baaad things." said Sazh spookily while the two girls giggled in amusement.

Hope stared for a moment then he heard the Principal's announcement from the speakers. "Lightning Farron, please report to the Principal's office please." and Hope watched as Lightning stood again and walk out of room. He guessed she was actually heading there. But the next thing the speakers voiced out made him freeze.

"Also, Hope Estheim, please report to the Principal's office too."

Okay the day has officially gotten worse.


	4. Chapter 3: Welcome to Hell

**Kai: Hey guys :D OMG RANDOM READER THAT IS THE LONGEST REVIEW EVAAAAA AND I MEAN EVAAAAA! O___O I have never EVER seen a review that long DX well in my opinion it was Nora's own fault that she died -.- and it Snow was not all for HER going at all! It was the other dude who encouraged people to stand up. Snow didn't start it. It's not like Hope saw everything that happened. He only saw Nora falling from Snow's grasp. Which I would understand why he would be mad about but he wasn't. Technically in my opinion, she caused her own death. As for Lightning, well I still love her despite her bitchy glitches in the start. And THANK YOU FOR THE EYE COLORS :D I don't like messing them up DX And yes I am very very evil XD And with my OC guy well I was in a rush (as usual) and it just popped up in my head XD and would it be the Dean's office O.O I have no clue I am not in college XD Anyways I hope you enjoy this shorter chapter since the last one was super long O____O**

Chapter 3: Welcome to Hell

Hope blinked as he stood in the Principal's office. He was watching the principal basically nag Lightning about how she should stop breaking the building so many times and how much she was costing the school for repairs. Hope had basically just followed after Lightning since he had no idea where he was going. She hadn't spoken a word to him. He guessed that she didn't mind having him follow her since he was heading in the same direction. Though, staring at her back was even intimidating. He saw how fast she was when she hit that guy. It was just in a blink of a eye and the force of the hit was so powerful. Imagine what she could with that sword of hers. Lightning was leaning against the wall, closest to the Principal's desk, eyes closed as if she didn't have a care in the world about his chatter. Arms crossed with her bag set down on her right side. Hope had no idea why was here but he didn't say anything as he looked at Lightning and the principal.

The principal was very interesting. He looked awfully young to be the principal of the school. He had black hair and blue eyes. He was known as Cid Raines. Known to be highly intelligent with a calm personality. Though he sounded strict right now, he actually seemed a easy going guy since he didn't look like he was really mad at Lightning for making new doors in the school. Hope soon snapped out of his thoughts to listen in on the conversation.

"Lightning, must you break every wall in this school? While breaking somebody's bones? Your lucky I don't charge you for any of this." said Raines sternly though Lightning didn't make a move, seemingly waiting to be excused.

Hope finally decided to work up the courage to ask something. "Um....Sir Raines?" he asked timidly.

Raines soon turned his head to look at the young boy. "Oh.... Yes Hope?" he asked as he delicately twirled a black rose in his fingers.

Hope gulped and then asked, "Um.... exactly why am I here?" as he shifted his position from where he stood in front of the Principal's desk.

Raines blinked, taken back a bit. Then he blinked again as if realizing why he sent for the newcomer.

"Oh yes. I was getting to that after I had a talk with Lightning here. But seeing as she is mostly ignoring me, I might as well get her attention on this." Raines said with a slight amused grin.

Hope blinked in confusion. How did him being here have to also concern Lightning who he hardly knew at all? It made him very curious really. Him and her haven't got in a fight yet. Shoot she had hardly talked to him. He glanced over to the school terror but she simply opened her left eye to take a glance towards Raines.

"Anyway, about your living quarters." said Raines as he continued to fiddle with the flower.

Hope blinked. He hadn't even thought about where his room would be. He had always worried who his roommate would be in the school dorms. He prayed to King Bahamut that it would be Snow, then at least he didn't have to worry about being bullied when he was sleeping.

"I am afraid every room is full." said Raines as he looked at the flower.

Hope blinked again. Then where was he going to sleep? Or actually get some peace and quiet from everyone who wanted to make fun of him? "Then where will I----" started Hope till Raines interrupted him again.

"Except..... Lightning's room." said Raines as he gently lifted his gaze to look at the bewildered boy. That was when Lightning finally became interested for she immiedetly stood straight, blue eyes wide open as she did a soft glare at the principal.

"You can not be thinking about----" started Lightning till she was interrupted also.

"Yes I am. You have been anti-social since day one. Everyone is dead terrified of you and refuse to share a room with you because you kick their ass. I think it would be good for you if you shared your room with our new student." said Raines calmly, even when Lightning slammed her hands against his desk and leaned over to look right into his eyes.

"Isn't this against school rules? He might be a kid but he is still a boy and I am still a girl so sharing a room is inappropiate." Lightning said as her blue eyes sparked and her icy tone seemed to pierce the air that made Hope shiver.

Hope stared at them, dumbstruck. He would share a room with a beautiful girl that could kill him in one blow? Oh that is just great.

"Yes but I don't think you two will do anything inappropriate now will you? I doubt you would make a move on a young boy and I also doubt you would let him try anything with you. Now my decision is final. Show him to his room." said Raines in a icy cold tone as well.

"But.." started Lightning as she tried to protest.

"No buts. It is final. Now go." said Raines as he pointed to the door then set it down to write something.

Lightning gritted her teeth then turned around to face Hope who jumped as their eyes met. She grabbed her bag then stomped passed him and out of the door. He stared after her in pure shock then he snapped out of it when he heard her voice cut through the air.

"Well are you coming?" she said softly but loud enough so he could hear.

He jumped, grabbed his bag and swiftly followed after her. This day had to be the worst day of his life.


	5. Chapter 4: Setting Rules

**Kai: Hey guys :D (I say that all the time I swear!) I was thinking of calling Random Ran :D Ran-Chan**

**Raines: Ignore Kai's rambling.**

**Kai: MEAN! Anyways, I hate it when people don't let non-users review D: I don't get it! DX I find it unfair not to let them review! I love hearing every ones opinions :D Anyways back to the story thing! Do not worry, Lightning now should show more emotion :D Cause you know O.O I be pretty mad sharing my room with some boy I have don't know D: Ohhhh and Hope shall make many mistakes ^-^ many many many mistakes. MWHAHAHHA And yes Johan I know that Vanille and Fang are actually REALLY REALLY OLD but I want their 'physical' looking ages. Which I got ^-^**

**FF13 cast: O____O**

**Kai: O.o *whistles* Oh btw guys.... I just thought up of another story for FF13 :o What if.....I did Final Fantasy 13 Beauty and the Beast style O.O Sort of.**

**Kai: Another thing is I made a Discussion forum thing about the pairings :D I would like to have visitors ^_^**

Chapter 4: Setting Rules

Hope stood in a small room. It had two beds with white sheets. One was on the left side, the other the right. It was actually a pretty clean room. Looked as though no one had touched the place. There was a window in the back wall that had a good view of a field of flowers, which Hope guessed was the gardens. The single bathroom was on the left side, closest to where he stood in front of the entrance door. The carpet was a scarlet red while the walls were white. There was a brown oak dresser in the far left corner that was next to a closet. The bathroom had a tiled floor, a huge bathtub. The bathtub looked like it could fit four people with no problem, it looked like a hot tub really. Must be comfortable to take a bath in it, of course you could take a shower in it too. The toilet and the counter of the bathroom were average. Hope was wondering why Lightning had such a large and comfortable bathtub. Maybe all the dorms had one.

As he looked around the room, he saw several swords hanging on the wall, or leaning against it. Several accesories on the dresser. He guessed there was more fighting equipment if he looked in the dresser or the closest but he wasn't about to go snooping around Lightning's things. He watched as Lightning set her bag on the left bed which he guessed was her's. He flinched when she turned around and faced him, fixing her cold blue eyes on him. She crossed her arms as she looked at him.

"Listen. I am only going to say this once so pay attention." Lightning said with a serious icy tone that made Hope nod his head immediately.

"You sleep on that bed." she said nodding towards the other bed. "Do **not** sneak into mine at any time. Do **not** open that dresser or go into that closet. Resist the urge of touching any of the equipment. Stay on **your** side of the room unless you are permitted on mine. Do **not** 'accidently' follow me into the bathroom. Do **not** try anything at night. Am I understood?" Lightning explained as she looked at the younger student with threatening and serious tone.

Hope nodded quickly, resisting the urge to gulp as his green eyes stared at her. "Yes ma'am." he said timidly as he slightly squirmed from where he stood, feeling like he should flee for his life.

"Don't call me ma'am. Just Lightning is fine." she answered as she took a breath to calm her nerves.

Hope nodded again. "Yes, Lightning." he said.

Lightning then nodded then sat down on her bed, took out her sword and examined it. Hope stared for a moment then slowly went over to his bed and set his stuff down. He then flopped flat faced into the bed tiredly. This day had been a very long day. Terrible at that. Minutes passed and niether one of them have spoken a word to each other. Hope was getting uncomfortable by the silence. He turned his head to the side so he could look over to Lighting. She was making sure her sword was intact and swung it once then took a cloth and wiped some dirt off of it. Hope couldn't take it anymore. He had to say something, even if she killed him for it.

"Um...Lightning?" asked Hope as he shifted from where he rested.

"What?" answered Lightning as she looked at her sword, not taking a glance towards him.

Hope gulped as he tried to think up a conversation. "Um.... what are you going to be?" he asked timidly.

"In the Guardian Force." Lightning answered smoothly as she rubbed the cloth against her sword again with her eyes closed.

Hope frowned a bit at her blunt answer but brightened because he was curious. He didn't have that much knowledge of the Guardian Force. He might as well continue the conversation by asking.

"What is the Guardian Force exactly? I haven't heard about it that much." asked Hope with curiosity sparkling in his jade colored eyes.

"The Guardian Force protects the citizens of Cocoon from monster attacks or people who break the law. Filled with skilled combat soldiers." answered Lightning calmly.

"Wow... you must be very strong then. Why do you want to join though?" asked Hope with a curious child-like gaze.

Lightning softly opened her blue eyes then. Her blank face stared down at her sword, and her eyes seemed cold as ever but seemed to show a slight hint of her inner emotions. Hope couldn't tell what they were though.

"To protect my sister Serah." Lightning answered, still holding her strong tone but it seemed a bit softer at the thought of her sister.

Hope was about to ask something again till Lightning stood up when there was a knock at the door. Seeing how the woman wasn't making a move to open the door, Hope decided to open it instead. He walked over and opened it. There stood Snow and Serah. They stared at him for a moment till Snow busted up in a fit of chuckles.

"So it was true! Sis has a new roommate!" Snow laughed with a big grin on his face.

Serah chuckled a bit as Lightning gave a glare across the room.

"Shut up." Lighting's cold voice rang in the air with a warning tone to it.

"But Sis..." started Snow then yelped when a sword was thrown in the air right above his head. Catching his hat and hitting the hallway wall.

"I am not your sister." said Lighting with a glare then went into the bathroom and slammed the door so hard, Hope was surprised that the hinges didn't break.

"Snow you should really try not to get on her nerves so much." sighed Serah.

"Um I'm the victim. She threw a sword at me! That hat could of been my head!" said Snow as he pointed at the sword stuck in the wall.

"Well....you did kind of deserve it." said Hope with a slight amused smile.

Snow blinked looking between Hope and Serah who were giving him accusing gazes. "Whys that?"

"Well you were laughing about how she finally has a roommate. Then calling her sis when she's not even your step sister yet." Serah giggled.

Snow looked between the two that were defending the woman who through a sword at him. He then sighed and shook his head but still held his cheerful grin. "Fine fine I'll apologize." he said then walked in front of the bathroom door and softly knocked.

"Light I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings now could you come out? You don't have to be so temper mental you know!" Snow called then the door slammed open, knocking the man to the ground with a thump. Lightning walked over him.

Snow grunted then sat up. "Why did you do that?!"

"You shouldn't be standing so close to a door." answered Lightning smoothly as she walked to the front door.

She stopped in front of Hope, who looked up at her curiously yet timid, afraid she might hit him next. "The bathroom lock is broken. So you will have to knock before you enter. Understood?" she said as Hope nodded in understanding.

Lightning gave a swift nod then looked at her sister who was standing at the open door, blocking her path. Both blinked as he looked between the two. There was a long awkward silence as they looked at each other. Then Lightning closed her eyes and simply walked foreword, forcing Serah to take a few steps back to get out of her way, then walked out of the room then down the dark hallway. Hope blinked at that. She acted rather coldly to her sister but when she spoke of Serah, she didn't sound so cold. She said she wanted to protect Serah yet she acted as if her own sister was a mere stranger. What was the connection with the two?

"She never talks to me anymore." said Serah sadly as she sighed.

Hope looked at the pink haired girl in wonder. His mind craving for more information but also telling him not to interfere.

"She use to talk to me so much before our parents died. Yet she has gotten rather cold after...." Serah whispered then stopped when Snow wobbled over with a groan.

"Ow....ow.....ow....ow.." Snow whinned in pain as he held his throbbing head.

Serah giggled. "Poor baby." she said as she kissed his cheek.

Snow brightened up at that. "Well now I feel way better." he grinned as he wrapped a arm around her shoulders.

Hope stared at them for a moment. He almost felt like slamming the door on them. He would rather not see people make-out in front of him. While in his and Lightning's room. It just felt weird and today was bad enough. He didn't need it to get worse. Hope soon snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Snow chatting at him about something.

"Hey Hope! Wanna go out with me and the team? Since now you are part of us." said Snow as he chuckled.

Hope raised a eyebrow. Since when did he decide to join Team Nora? He didn't remember it if he did. Then again, being with these guys might give him some protection from bullies for awhile. Maybe it wasn't so bad. Though they seemed odd. Snow seemed optimistic and obsessed with being a great hero. Serah seemed friendly though mysterious. Vanille was perky and funloving but he hardly knew her, Sazh was his teacher who had a baby chocobo in his hair, and Lightning is a soldier that everyone is terrified of. Well, at least being with them makes life interesting. Of course, taking Hope's silence as being speechless and wanting to go, Snow grinned and picked up Hope by the collar of his shirt.

"Great! Let's go! We are out to party!!" yelled Snow in laughter then bolted down the hallway. Serah following after him giggling at her boyfriend's happy self.

Hope was busily trying not to choke to death as he was drugged so fast he was in midair. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! S-Slow down!" he yelled but Snow kept his pace as he chatted on. Oh boy now he was going to a party. Great.

When they arrived at the party, Hope was exhausted. Snow had dragged him, out of school, down five blocks, then up two blocks, to a fairly decent sized house that held party lights pouring out of it and brightening the night filled sky. Loud music could be heard from it that made Hope's ears ring, and he wasn't even inside of it yet. Apparently, this house was Snow's. He lived in his own house and had quite a few jobs to pay for it. Why exactly he had a house, Hope wasn't sure. All Hope wanted was to crash and go to sleep, but he just got here so it was going to be a long night. As Hope stood in front of the front door with Snow and Serah, Snow explained to him that he only had to stay a hour. Since it was already 8:00 PM.

"Don't worry! You'll be just fine! Just try not to get into too much trouble now!" laughed Snow and Hope mumbled as he was dragged inside and loud music burned through his poor sensitive eardrums.

Suddenly, Hope had lost Snow and Serah. He looked around for them but all he could see were several other people whom he didn't know at all. He worked his way through the crowd. Occasionally saying 'oops, sorry, excuse me, pardon me, coming through' while he worked his way through. He took a relieved breath as he found a small wooden chair and sat down in it. Unfortunately, his peace was short lived. A twenty year old looking woman walked over to him. She had long dirty blonde hair with blue eyes. They weren't like Lightning's, who's eyes were cold and distant, these were pale and mischievously eyes. She had a good tan and she was about as tall as Lightning. She held a glass in her left hand that contained some beer inside. She wore a creme tank top that could barely hold together her fairly large breasts, and **very very**small shorts. With wooden sandals. She was obviously drunk as she could barely stand.

"Well well liffle boy. Care for a dfance?" the woman hiccuped with a small smile.

Hope stared uncomfortable and shifted away as he looked around for a escape root. He put his hands in front of his face timidly. "Um....no thanks ma'am... I'm all....riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!" he started then yelped when she suddenly reached out, grabbing onto his ribs and pulling him closer to her as she swung him in circles like a play doll.

Hope yelped as she swung him around, spun him around, even through him in the air and catching him. As she did this, Hope was desperatly trying to get some help and get away from this mad woman.

"Snow!......Help!....I'm!.....Being!....Tossed!....Around!.....HELP!....ANYBODY!" Hope yelled through the music, saying each word as he was thrown into the air. Unfortunately, no one could hear him through the loud music.

Hope felt like he was about to vomit from the dizziness, he then was thrown in the air again but this time she didn't catch him and he fell flat face into the ground. He groaned loudly in pain and groaned again when he heard the woman say, "Ooopsie! Sforry about thfffat kid!" she slurred and laughed a bit with some others that saw his fall.

Hope grumbled then he felt himself being picked up again. He mentally screamed and prayed to Eden that he would stop this madness that made him into the new party beach ball. He sighed in relief to see that Snow had picked him up by the collar again and drag him over to a table. He set the young boy in a seat and grinned.

"Already having fun I see?" said Snow and chuckled a bit as he watch Hope groan and rest his head on the table, terribly exhausted already.

"Okay maybe I should of kept a closer eye on you." chuckled Snow then smiled as Vanille skipped over with two glasses.

She set a glass down in front of Snow with a bright smile. "Here's your Moogle Mog Snow! Hope your happy that I got it for you since your so lazy too." she teased and giggled.

Hope glanced up at the perky girl. Moogle Mog was known to be one of the strongest alcohol's in all of Cocoon. One sip could make your head spin and it doesn't take a lot of sips till you feel the effects. Some pass out instantly, and some get drunk instantly. Though it was too strong for anyone to drink, it was really tasty. It tasted like Eggnog with some cherries. Sounds weird but it is actually a good drink.

"Thanks Vanille! I owe ya one!" grinned Snow as he took a gulp of the substance then handed it to Hope. "Here! Try some! It's good!"

Hope took it and just stared at it. He had never tasted any alcohol and wasn't planning too. He disliked the smell of it and he would rather not get a hangover and spend ours in the bathroom vomiting. "I don't think that's a good idea." he said cautiously.

"Oh don't worry! One sip won't kill you! At least I'm not the one drinking it." Vanille giggled cutely.

"Ya I learned my lesson the first time around. Here is a tip Hope. Never **ever **give Vanille any alcohol! And I mean ever! If you do, well, your on you own! It was nice knowing you then." said Snow as he shivered at the very thought.

Hope blinked in utter confusion as he looked at Snow then at Vanille. She didn't look like she would kill him, unlike Lightning. What does one simple sip do to such a cheerful girl? Make her more perky? Hope shrugged then got up the courage to take a sip of the liquid. He set the glass down next to Snow then waited. He didn't feel anything so he guessed he was fine as he tasted the liquid in his mouth. All of a sudden he felt drowsy and his head spin out of control. He felt his eyes water and his head throb and then all was black.

"Hey! Hope! Wake up!" yelled Snow over the loud music.

Hope groaned as he groggily opened his eyes. "....................My head hurts...." he said quietly and this music wasn't helping it.

"Okay I think it's time to take a little boy home! Remind me not to let you try alcohol again!" laughed Snow then picked up Hope and helped him out of the house. "I'll be back Serah! Make sure Vanille stays out of trouble along with everyone else!"

"Roger!" smiled Serah as she waved goodbye.

Hope groaned, happy to be out of that god forsaken noise.

~later 9:00 PM~

Hope wobbled down the hallway. He had insisted Snow that he was fine and could go to his room. He didn't want Snow to get beat up again by Lightning, if she was home. His vision was blurred as he walked but he finally found his room as he fiddled with the lock tiredly. He opened it and went inside, shutting the door behind him. At least the day was pretty much over and there is absolutely no way things could get worse. He glanced around, seeing Lightning wasn't in the room. He decided to take a quick shower. He wobbled to the closed bathroom door, totally ignoring the **'Do Not Enter'** sign that was in big red letters that also said **'Taking Bath' **as he slowly opened the door then looked ahead then he stood up straight and his eyes widened as his jaw dropped. There stood Lightning, her hair wet and plastered against her beautiful athletic body, a rose colored towel wrapped around her body, covering her chest, torso, and hips. Hope gapped for a moment as the woman turned to look at him, shock in her blue eyes.

"Uh...." Hope started but couldn't say anything as he felt himself wobble.

Lightning's eyes then narrowed with anger sparking in her eyes. Hope wobbled again, tired and exhausted, his vision turning black as her figure evaporated from his sight. He fell backwards, his head slamming against the floor as he soon fainted and fell into a deep sleep. Okay the day got worse.


	6. Chapter 5: Lightning VS Hope

**Kai: Hey guys :D MWHAHA Fear Lightning! FEAR HER! Do not worry though ^-^ She get's softer. Slowly but surely O.O Pretty much she gets softer after this chapter I think. XD Well I hope you enjoy Hope's torture! Lightning VS. Hope....Who shall win?! **

**Hope: O.O isn't it obvious?!**

**Lighting: .......**

Chapter 5: Lightning VS. Hope

Hope groaned a bit as his eyes slowly fluttered open. Then blinked when he saw the open blue sky. He sat up then groaned when hsi head throbbed terribly. He felt like vomiting too. Curse hangovers. He sat up and looked around, to see himself on a open field. He wondered how he got here. He knew today must be Saturday. No school. At least that was a relief. Then the memories of what happened last night flooded into his head. He sat there in horror. Oh Eden, he was going to die. Slowly and terribly. Lightning was going to murder him! He looked around wildly then he quickly rolled the right and barely dodged a gunshot. He stood quickly and groaned as he his mind throbbed but he looked foreword seeing Lightning pointing her gun and sword at him. He stared in pure horror and fear. He started waving his arms wildly around and backing away.

"W-wait a minute Lightning! I-I didn't mean to walk in! Honest! I didn't know you were in there a-and...." Hope stuttered horribly as she walked closer to the boy.

"Didn't I say that you should knock before entering the bathroom? And I put signs on the door." Lightning said coldly as she walked closer like a prowling lioness stalking her prey.

Hope's mouth twitched. He had forgotten. Oh crap. He swore he would never drink a drop of alcohol again if he lived through this. "W-well...you see.... Snow took me to this party... a-and he offered me a drink and well I-I..."

Lightning stared at him with cold blue eyes. "You should of refused." she replied just as cold.

"Uh well...." Hope said as he tried to think up a excuse then yelped when she suddenly charged foreword with incredible speed.

Hope yelped as he tried to think of a way to get out of this. He then remembered his weapon he always carried. He swiftly reached in his pocket and pulled out his boomerang like weapon. He set it in front of him and just managed to block a slash from Lightning's sword. But of course she overpowered him and threw him backwards. He screamed as he rolled away as she almost stabbed his head then jumped away from her side slash. She then took several slashes as he blocked them. She must of been going easy on him, since she was swinging effortlessly and he wasn't being knocked over as much.

"Lightning!....Lightning!....I!....Really!.....Didn't!.....Mean!....To!....Look!....I!...Swear!...." Hope screamed between slashes.

Lightning then used her sword to easily unarm Hope then knock him over flat on his back. She then placed the tip of her blade at his throat. The tip gently touching his skin. Hope gulped, afraid to make a move.

"Lightning...?" Hope said as he fearfully looked up into her blue eyes.

Lightning then lifted her sword then made a move to stab it down onto him. Hope yelped and closed his eyes, shielding his face with his arms. Lightning then slammed the sword down, right beside the left side of Hope's head. Hope blinked when he felt no pain then moved his arms to look up at her. She was still staring down at him coldly but she sighed and put her right hands fingers to her forehead. She seemed to be in thought. Hope wasn't sure exactly what she was going to do but he froze when she looked at him again. Anger flickering in her eyes. How the hell does he get into these kind of messes? She then kneeled down to him and leaned over so her face was just above his. Hope blushed a bit as he looked at her.

"I should kill you." said Lightning seriously.

Hope gulped and nodded in understanding waiting for a good hard blow.

"I don't kill little kids though. So I'll go easy on you if...you don't tell anyone what you saw. Especially anybody on Team Nora." Lightning said as she looked at him with seriousness, anger, and coldness.

Hope gulped nodded and crossed his heart making his silent promise.

"Good. Now start running." Lightning ordered as she then stood up and picked up her sword.

Hope blinked then stood and looked at her curiously. Then yelped when he felt her punch his head. Almost making him fall over.

"Unless you wish for a lot of bruises." said Lightning as she loaded her gun.

Hope gapped then turn tailed and fled for his life as she shot at him. Occasionaly throwing bombs at him and making him go flying. Oh Eden this is going to be a long day.

~Later: Midnight~

Hope walked around the city, alone. He had been chased all day by the expert soldier who was going easy on him. She had pretty much tortured him all day. When she had caught him again, which wasn't very long from the first time, she had told him to stay out of their room. So here he was wandering the city blindly. He winced at some bruises he recieved by the bombs she threw. And rubbed his head where she punched him. He felt so sore and tried from all that running. He was exausted but the problem was, he was lost. He had no idea which way he was going. City lights shined brightly and the cars flew by. Few people walked passed him. Despite the bruises he had, he didn't have any injuries and didn't have that many bruises. He was mostly sore from running. Maybe she was just trying to terrify him, which worked. His heart couldn't stop racing.

Hope sighed as he looked around. "Where is the college?" he wondered as he walked down the sidewalk.

He screamed when he felt someone grab his arm and pull him into a dark alleyway. He then was slammed against a wall and he slumped down into a sitting position. He looked up and stared in horror at Gek and Zeeke who were grinning like maniacs.

"Well well look what we have here? It's the girly boy Hope!" smirked Gek in amusement.

"Ya! Girly boy Hope!" snickered Zeeke.

"Shut up Zeeke!" said Gek as he rolled his eyes then looked down at Hope and cracked his knuckles. "We've been wanting a punching bag for awhile now, see? You will do nicely." he snickered.

"Very nice." grinned Zeeke as he punched his hand into the palm of his other.

Hope gulped deeply then was about to scream till Gek slammed his fist against Hope's cheek. He yelped as he was kicked in the gut and punched in the side of his head. He felt so many punches against his body, his whole body numbed with the pain. He tried to shield his face with his arms fearfully. He felt his legs being stomped on and his sides being kicked. Even his rips were kicked so hard he was sure they were breaking. His vision seemed to blur as he was beaten. Barely able to hear the bullies snickering. He then heard them scream something.

"W-whoa....What are you....Wait wait! We didn't mean it, honestly! We were only...AHHH" screamed the two as Hope heard crackling punches and he heard the sound of breaking bones.

Hope heard the continuing punches then some shuffling of running feet. Then he heard a familiar voice.

"Next time I catch you, you won't be as lucky." said the familiar voice.

He slowly opened his eyes and his blured vision managed to catch a blured person kneel down in front of him and place a hand against his cheek, so gently. So very gentle. His vision soon blackened, but he managed to catch a glance to the face of the person who helped him. Lightning.


	7. Chapter 6: The Start of Companionship

**Kai: Hey guys :D My chapters are too short O.O THAT IS THE MOST CHAPTERS I HAVE EVER WRITTEN! I MEAN over 3,000 words on some of the chapters 0-0 Again I'm sorry it is not descriptive enough buuuuuuuuut as I have said before and I will say now. I AM GROUNDED READ MY LETTERS G-R-O-U-N-D-E-D which means that I have to rush which means more lack of descriptive which means short chapters! My goal in every chapter is to at least get 1,000 words. You don't want me to leave off at 500 now do you? And plus, I love torturing people with cliff hangers and leaving them off wondering. Just how it is man. Yes I know cliffhangers sometimes ANNOY people so much they stop reading but sometimes it just makes them want to read more. Plus, if my mom found out I was on the computer at all, you wouldn't see a chapter for months. You don't want that do you? And ....Um...Bob?... I do the same thing :D I read stuff on my phone XD And I am sorry Jonah for spelling your name wrong TT-TT *hits self with Lightning's sword***

**Lightning: .....give me my sword....**

**Kai: *hands sword back***

**Lightning: *hits Kai***

**Kai: Ow. BTW I know this guy who finished FF13 in three days O__O he didn't sleep at all and played nonstop O.o I was surprised. Fear FF fans.**

Chapter 6: The Start of Companionship

Hope groaned a bit as his eyes were closed. He felt sore and his body tingle. Something pressing against his forehead and he would flinch every time he felt the pressure. Oh Eden it hurt. It hurt so bad. The object that kept annoyingly pressing against his head felt a bit wet. A bit rough, like a washcloth. He wanted to open his eyes but they felt as heavy as a Behemoth. He almost screamed out as he felt it again, but even though it felt painful, it also felt gentle. Like how his mother use to put a washcloth on his head when he had a fever. His mother...he missed her, so dearly. He suddenly felt weight be lift off him, and the pain being swept away from the very thought of his mother. As if she was there beside him, comforting him. He felt his heart warm and glow like the sun, a smile creeping up on his lips as he saw a image of her, smiling gently at him. Calling his name and saying it would be alright.

"Mom..." Hope whispered under his breath, almost making it sound as soft as a kitten's purr. He felt the pressure suddenly halt.

"Not even close kid." said a distant voice. Almost in amusement at his whisper.

Hope shifted as he slept. It sounded familiar. So very familiar, though he felt like he hardly knew it. Like it was a voice that was treasured and was too rare to here to any ear. Who was it? Who had that treasured voice? His head hurt just thinking of anything. He knew that voice though, there was no question. He felt his heart throb in his chest, begging him to open his eyes. He felt comfortable just resting though, having the rough object rub against him. Yet he his heart take a swift kick to his rips, which hurt like hell, and he muttered a groan. He slowly felt his heavy eyes lift upward as he watched the blackness turned into a blurry vision. He saw pink, smooth white, white, red, and a clear blue. Colors whirled around making strange blurred visions. He blinked his eyes a couple of times, attempting to rid of the blurriness. When it cleared, he saw Lightning's face, close and seeming to focus on his forehead. The morning sun shinning through the window and making her glow like the sun. He froze and stared.

"L-Lightning?!" he said and grimaced as a shot of pain ran through his rips.

Lightning didn't take a glance in his eyes as she gently dabbed a red washcloth on his forehead. "Stop moving." she said as cold as ever.

"Ow...ow....ow...ow ow ow ow ow ow ow." Hope repeated as she treated his head. He blinked when he noticed he didn't have his shirt on. His chest and stomach were neatly bandaged up, along with his arms and if he rolled up his pants they would be wrapped up too.

He bit his lip, to keep from screaming, as he felt Lightning wrap bandages around his forehead. He then saw Lightning sit back in her chair, that was beside his bed, when she was finished.

"You should be fine after some rest." Lightning said bluntly as she put a first-aid kit beside her.

Hope just stared at her in disbelief. "Why did you help me?" he asked as he remembered what happened last night.

Lightning looked back at him. Her blue eyes cold as usual but still held their glow. "Serah sent me to go and find you. She also insisted that I treat your wounds because she believed I went too far in scaring you." she replied just as blunt as she crossed her arms with a grunt and closed her eyes.

Hope blinked. "Oh....but I thought...." he started as he thought about all the rumors he heard.

"Thought what?" answered Lightning as she sat there, not changing her position.

"Well.....the things people you say. Some say you kill people for just bothering you or Serah. Snow said you sent people to the hospital since elementary." said Hope as he looked at her questionably.

Lightning opened her eyes again and slightly raised a eyebrow at him. "Is that so? I kill creatures that cause problems. Not people unless they are life threatening. Nubo was the one I caused damaged to in elementary." she answered.

Hope blinked. "What does he say to get you so mad?" he said.

"Do you really want to know?" Lightning answered with a angry spark in her eye.

Hope gulped then shook his head. "No that's okay." he said as he shifted. "What about Snow though?"

Lightning's eyes narrowed. "I don't like him around my sister and if he brings trouble to her then I will kill him. Till then, Serah won't let me do anything serious." she said sounding a bit annoyed at the thought of the man.

Hope blinked. "So all those were just rumors."

"Some are just rumors. Some are not. Welcome to school." Lightning snorted as she stood up then. "Rest. You should take better care of yourself. This school is full incompetent people." she said and took her sword and was getting ready to leave.

Hope watched her. Maybe he shouldn't of been so scared of her. Mom did say he shouldn't judge people based on what he hears. Maybe if he got to know her, she would actually be something he never expected. Of course that seemed difficult. You could almost see that there was a brick wall around her. That she made for herself to keep others out, even from her sister. What would happen if that brick wall was taken down brick by brick? She was also right about how he should be stronger. If he was going to survive here, he needed to be strong like her. He then had a risky idea.

"Then teach me." Hope said, feeling determination well up inside him.

He saw Lightning swiftly turn to him and fix her cold gaze onto him. Her face held no emotion but her eyes held some shock, surprise, and confusion. "What?" she asked, her tone remaining calm.

"I want to get stronger. Not only to protect myself but I don't want to bother people like you rescuing me all the time. I want to stand up for myself and protect people I care about." Hope explained as determination sparkled in his green eyes, though he still felt intimidated from Lightning's gaze, he needed to stay strong. If he wanted to be strong, he needs to stop feeling so intimidated by Lightning.

Lightning crossed her arms and looked at him sharply. "No." she said bluntly then smoothly walked out of the room.

Hope stared for a moment then he shook his head and stood up. Flinched at the sudden pain in his legs. He felt determination flow through his body as he walked out of the room, closed the door behind him and followed after the soldier. This was going to be a long day.

~Later: Afternoon~

"No." Lightning said as she walked along the garden.

The garden was very large. Maybe one hundred acres or more. Hope wasn't sure but it sure seemed big. It held several types of flowers. Several different colors of Roses, Lilies, Lilacs, Sunflowers, Tulips, Stellar's, Dahlias, and many others. Each having their own patch. It was like a maze really. All day Hope had been following the soldier silently. He had just asked again and she still refused to let him. A few times she had told him to stop but he kept following. Even when she scaled to the top of the school building. Of course, he fell but luckily he had landed in a bush. Still though, he still followed her despite his injuries. He was slowing down now though, limping slower and slower. Lightning then stopped and slowly turned her head to her left side and took a glance at him. He was breathing heavily as he hobbled along. He stopped and bent over, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He then heard Lightning speak.

"Do you really want **my **help with making you strong?" Lightning asked, her tone even.

Hope breathed then managed to nod and speak out, "Yes." as he forced himself not to crumble to the ground.

Lightning looked at him in thought then she fully turned around so she was facing him then walked over to him so they were only a few feet apart. Hope then stood up straight and looked up at her with unblinking eyes.

"If I accept your request, will you quit pestering me? Will you not complain at any time during training? Will you do anything I say? Will you not speak with me again afterwords?" Lightning questioned as she looked down at the boy with crossed arms.

Hope listened carefully then he slowly nodded. "Of course. I promise." he smiled brightly.

Lightning slightly nodded then blinked a bit when Hope held out his hand to her, begging for a handshake. She looked at the gloved hand then at his eyes which sparkled with happiness and joy.

"Then let us start over. It's nice to meet you Lightning. I'm Hope Estheim and I hope I can be the best for you." greeted Hope with a friendly smile.

Lightning stared at him for a moment then closed her eyes as if thinking. It took a few moments but her arms slowly became uncrossed. She reached up with her right hand slowly and hesitantly to meet with his. She then swiftly gripped his gloved hand with hers and did one shake.

"Don't think I will go easy on you even if your just a kid." Lightning said crossly as she opened her blue eyes to look into his light green ones.

Hope smiled a bit and said, "Wouldn't even think about it."


	8. Chapter 7: Teaching

**Kai: SNICKERS!!!!!!!! Sorry had to say something in the beginning other than 'Hey guys.' Anways, I'm glad that some of you enjoyed the last chapter. It's back to school now since it is monday. And yes I know that I tweaked PSICOM and the Guardian Force a lot but you know. Sorry and hope you will forgive me.**

Chapter 7: Teaching

Hope yawned deeply as he snuggled into his pillow comfortly. The rest of the day yesterday had been rough. Lightning had taken him to the Battle Arena, which was great for training. The building was a great big dome, as tall as the school. Inside held several battle training area's. It had a area where you could make simulated reality, like making them appear in a mountain area or the jungle. Making everything seem real. Another was a regular battle stadium that could go zero gravity and had unlimited weapons. Lightning had trained him in the simulated area. Making him climb over rocks and teach him some jumping. Of course he was still tired from his injuries so he was a bit slow but she said the sooner they train, the better. Of course, on Monday morning, he really didn't want to get out of bed. That is, before he heard the door shut. Hope instantly sat up.

"Oh Eden she'll leave without me!" Hope said as he panicly jumped out of bed, quickly changed out of his night clothes, grabbed his backpack, then ran out of the room and down the hallway after Lightning's disappearing form.

Lightning was calmly walking along and still held her calm expression when Hope caught up to her and walked beside her, breathing heavily.

"Sorry I'm late." Hope apologized as he caught his breath.

"It's fine." Lightning answered cooly as she took a glance at him.

Hope laughed a bit as he rubbed his tired eyes. He held his school book close to his chest while Lighting held her bag across her right shoulder, holding the strap firmly with her right fist. As they soon walked through the school halls, Hope caught a few stares and whispers. Some were saying why they were walking together. One person made the excuse that they were just walking together cause they shared the same room and had the same class. Of course everyone was surprised he wasn't dead but seemed to think his bandages came from Lightning. In a normal school, it would be difficult to get through from the masses of people, but because it isn't and it has Lightning in it, well everyone stayed pretty close to the walls. Which left a clear path for Lightning and Hope. Lightning, of course, paid no attention to the whispers of the other students. Hope, deciding that if Lightning didn't care what they said about them, well neither will he. He held his head high and was just glad he wasn't getting beat up yet.

When the two reached their seats and the class started, Lightning did her usual routine of looking out the window. Hope was buisly taking notes of what Sazh was saying, scribbling on a scratch piece of paper.

".....PSICOM was a powerful organization that didn't give a damn about the citizens. If they found a monster rampaging the city, well they would just shoot it on sight, not caring about the citizens there. Many lives were taken because of it. The Guardian Force, at the time was a smaller organization who cared for the well being of the citizens. Always trying to help every citizen. Of course these two organizations did not get along well." Sazh spoke loudly so everyone could hear.

"Many of times these two would get into fights, till it led to the Great War between the two. As you all know, the war took place fifteen years ago. Ended seven years ago. The Guardian Force claimed victory and PSICOM ceased to exist. Now the Guardian Force does whatever they can to protect us from the monsters that come from time to time from Gran Pulse and the Monster Nest. The Monster Nest has yet to be uncovered but I'm sure that the Guardian Force will discover it soon and wipe it out." explained Sazh as he spoke to them calmly. He looked around the room seeing that many of them were asleep.

"Will you suckers wake up now?! This isn't a salon ya know?! Geesh I swear that you all are kindergarteners." Sazh said as he raised his arms in the air in annoyance.

Chocobo popped out of his hair and kweh'd in agreement. Sazh pointed at Chocobo and said, "See?! Even the bird agrees!"

The class laughed at Sazh in amusement and some apologized that they fell asleep. Hope managed to write everything down as his mind whirled around. He then looked at Lightning, yet she seemed colder at Sazh's teaching today. He wonderd why she didn't like the teaching. It sounded as if the Guardian Force were heroes and she wanted to join them. Or did she know something and she had another motive in joining them? Hope then blinked when he looked down and saw another piece of paper, other than his scratch paper. It had some writing on it and some short questions. Ten total, it was a quiz it seemed like. Hope looked to the front and saw Sazh grinning widely.

"Well since you guys seem to know all this, you should ace this ten question quiz in ten minutes no problem right? It starts now so get to it." Sazh said and laughed at the groans that ran through the class. Some pleads and apologizes. Sazh simply sat down at his desk and yawned widely.

Hope sighed a bit then looked down at the questions. They seemed really simple. He looked over at Lighting seeing she was already on the tenth question, then she finished it and set her pencil down. Looking out the window once again. He blinked then he picked up his pencil and started the quiz.

**1. Who was the former lead organization?**

Hope wrote down _PSICOM._

**2. What did the former lead organization do?**

_Killed innocent civilians that were in the path of the attacking monster _was Hope's answer.

**3. Who fought against the former lead organization?**

_The Guardian Force _was Hope's answer as he thought with little effort.

**4. Who were the Guardian Force?**

_Our current organization that protects us from creatures that rampage through the city and harms civilians. Well respected among the people._

**5. What was the Great War?**

_War between PSICOM and the Guardian Force._

**6. When did the war start?**

_Fifteen years ago._

**7. When did it end?**

_Seven years ago._

**8. What has yet been discovered?**

_The Monster Nest._

**9. Who will find it?**

_The Guardian Force._

**10. Who led a brave assault near the end of the Great War?**

This Hope was unsure of. He didn't know the answer. He stared at the question in confustion. He thought long and hard but he couldn't get it. He thought about it till Sazh started calling out.

"Alright kids turn in your tests!" said Sazh and snickered as he heard groans once again.

Hope sighed then he took Lightning's quiz so he could pass it on. He caught a glimpse of something written under the tenth question till he put it under his quiz. He passed it foreword and then the bell rang. He watched as Lightning stood up once again and walked passed him with her bag swung over her shoulder. It was the same as last time but she stopped when she was just halfway down the ile. Everyone stared at her for a long time. She didn't turn her head or look at him but she did speak out.

"You coming?" she said calmly.

Hope blinked and looked around as people gave confused expressions. He then felt a smile creep up on his lips and he put his notes in his school book then grabbed his backpack and his book then walked away from his desk then walked over to her. She waited till he was beside her till she started walking again. Hope was slightly nervous at all the gawks he recieved and all the whispers. Yet, he also felt a bit of pride flow through him. If walking with Lightning like this was such a honor, he wasn't going to worry much about what everyone thought. He was going to enjoy it and maybe take some of Lightning's bricks apart, a block of a time. So he can just take a glimpse at the real her. Right after Lightning and Hope walked out of the room, Hope could hear a uproar come from the room. Though he still smiled happily and Lightning kept her cool calm gaze as they headed to lunch.


	9. Chapter 8: Oh Eden

**Kai: Hiya! So yes the last chapter was mostly a bit of a explanation about PSICOM and the Guardian Force and yes it is important in the future :D but that will have to wait till Lightning's and Hope's relationship grows ^-^ You all shall hate me at the end of this chapter though :D MWHAHAHAHA**

**FF13 cast: o.o**

**Kai: O.O GET BACK IN THERE DX *throws the characters needed in this chapter in***

Chapter 8: Oh Eden

Hope sat in the cafeteria at his usual spot in Team Nora's table. He watched as Snow yapped away about how well he is doing in his class while the others teased him with 'failing' and he would yell at them that he wasn't. Though they were all just teasing eachother. Hope looked at the rounded table with seven seats around it. Two were empty. One, Hope expected, was Lightning's if she ever decided to sit with them. The other he wasn't sure about. Speaking of Lightning, she was in her usual spot, leaning against the wall with arms crossed and eyes closed. Waiting till the bell started to ring. Nupo hadn't decided to pursue her yet but Hope saw the man sit at a table several feet away, chatting with his friends. The cafeteria was often full of chatter of the students. Never seeming to stop the buzzing in someones head, doubt that anyone could ever think. Hope watched Lightning as she just stood there, completely ignoring everything around her. Doesn't she ever eat? He had finished his lunch other than a single apple, so he decided to go ask her if she would like it.

"Hey guys I'll be right back." said Hope with a smile and watched as everyone stared at him.

"And where the hell are you going boy?" asked Sazh blinking.

"Alright just hurry back. Don't want to see you get even more beat up." said Snow as he nodded to Hope's bandages.

Hope nodded. "Don't worry. I'll be back." he said then stood up then walked over to Lightning, earning him stares from everywhere in the room.

Hope saw Lightning crack her eyes open when she heard his footsteps. How she could hear his footsteps from all this noise was unknown to him but he guess that it was just of Lightning's special ways. Hope stopped in front of her and she looked down at him.

"Um...hi Lightning." greeted Hope with a smile and he earned a brisk nod.

"What is it?" Lightning asked, most likely thinking that he would hang around the others rather than her.

"Well I just thought you should eat something is all." explained Hope as he held the juicy red apple in his gloved hands.

Lightning looked into his eyes then glanced down at the apple then back at him. "I don't need it." she answered bluntly.

Hope looked at her. "Sure you do. Apples are healthy and good. Also, soldiers need to keep their strength up if their going to be any good right?" he said innocently looking into her blue eyes.

Lightning paused at that. She looked into Hope's light green eyes that sparkled curiously. Her gaze sort of made Hope feel nervous but he kept his stance and determination. Everything was silent for once. There were no chatter, no whispers, no whistles, no clanging noises, nothing but every ones hitched breathing and the thumping of his heart. Hope could of sworn he saw a small smile cross the soldier's lips as she took the apple with her own gloved hand. She brought it up to her face and sort of examined it with her blue gaze. Few seconds passed till Lightning gently took a bite out of the apple and seemed to taste it in her mouth then swallow. Then she continued taking bites out of it and people stared at the two with shock. Hope smiled happily yet he also felt weird that he was happy watching her eat.

"Well well look what we have here?" said a voice that came from Hope left side.

Hope looked and saw Nupo walk up to the two and look between them both. Lightning didn't seem to take any notice of him as she continued to eat the apple. Hope looked a bit unsure at this man. Honestly, he had a bad feeling about this guy, Hope didn't know why but he did.

"Sweet Lightning, I see you got yourself a little pet. Have we gotten a bit softer I suppose?" Nupo said that almost sounded like a cat's sly purr.

Again, Lightning pretty much ignored him. Nupo grinned a bit.

"Oh don't be like that baby. Since you've gotten a little softer, how about I try it out in either mine or your dorm room? I'm sure it would be a wild time." Nupo said as he leaned against the wall with his left side and his left arm pinned against the wall just above her head and his head pretty close to hers.

Hope, for some reason, didn't like this one bit. He felt a small tug on his heart and something boil. He already didn't like this guy, now he knew why Lightning punched him the other day.

"I don't think she wants to, Nupo." said Hope looking up at the taller boy with a slight glare in his gaze but kept it soft as the boy turned his head to look down at the younger boy.

"Who's talkin to you twerp?" smirked Nupo as he flicked Hope on the forehead with good force.

Hope held back a yelp as his injured forehead was flicked and glared back at him. Nupo laughed at him then stood straight and grabbed Hope by the front of his shirt collar and lifted him up a bit easily.

"Oooo aren't you scary? I guess I will just have to teach a twerp like you a lesson and stay in your place." said Nupo with a smirk as he pulled back his free hand to make a blow to the face. Hope closed his eyes shut preparing for a blow.

"Let go of him or you'll die." Lightning threatened venomously.

Nupo shivered by the shock of her voice and let go of Hope instantly who fumbled a bit as he stood. Nupo looked toward Lightning but all he found was a fist to the face as he went flying through the school wall once again, the same spot where he flew last time that was nicely patched up and then broken once again. Hope stared after him and he could hear Sazh say, "He's outta here once again. That ups the score to 101 for Lighting and 0 for Nupo."

Lightning brushed her gloved hand a bit then glared around the room for anyone else who dared mess with her and they all shrank back. She nodded then looked at Hope. "I'm going training. Stay with Serah." she ordered then picked up her bag and then smoothly walked out of the building.

Once she left, Hope was rammed with masses of people. Many asking what he did to get so close to her and if he was a which. Some suggested that she thought he was a cutie and some other students said they were way hotter and cute then him. Hope felt dizzy being bombarded by so many questions, he felt faint. This was going to be a long day.

~Later: 10:00 PM~

Hope sighed as he walked along the city once again. He had managed to get away from the mobs of people that demanded to know his secret of how to get close to Lightning. Of course though, once again he was lost in the huge city. Having no idea where he was going. This time he was near a cliff near the city. This cliff was known by everyone for a very important reason. No one came here unless they were forced to. Hope, of course, didn't recognize it right away. He stood at the edge with a relieved sigh as he looked up at the starry sky. The stars looked very dim because of the city lights but Hope still found them beautiful. He then swiftly turned around when he heard footsteps. There he saw Gek and Zeeke once again.

"Well if it isn't our old buddy, Hope!" grinned Gek with a laugh.

Zeeke looked at Gek confusedly. "But Gek I thought he wasn't our buddy and our play toy?" he said with a dumb expression.

Gek face-palmed himself then punched Zeeke in the head. "Oh just shut up Zeeke!" he yelled and snorted then smirked back at Hope who looked at them with a bit of worry.

"What do you want now?" Hope asked as he looked between the two and took a step back when they took steps closer, his foot almost slipping off the edge.

"Oh you know. Just to have a bit of fun. And to get revenge for you fetching the 'oh so great Lightning' on us." said Gek with a grin.

"You guys were the ones beating me up." Hope pointed out.

"He's got a point Gek." nodded Zeeke in agreement.

Gek grounded his teeth angrily. "Just shut up the both of you! I'm going to send you to hell little shit!" he yelled then stomped over then kicked Hope in the stomach and knocked him off the cliff. "Have a nice trip twerp! And say hi to the locals for me!" he snickered.

Hope had no fricken clue what he was talking about as he fell. Till he turned his body around to look downward to see a large green gate like portal. Oh now Hope remembered what cliff this was. This cliff was famous for having a portal. A portal to Gran Pulse that is infested with monsters. Oh Eden help him.


	10. Chapter 9: Welcome to Gran Pulse

**Kai: Hiya guys! Well now poor Hope gets into MORE trouble. At least he had a little break from being bullied. Now is when things get interesting though :D You will see why *evil laugh* Oh by the way do any of you know all the monsters in Gran Pulse DX I can't remember how to spell some of them. I only know the Behemoths XD YAY over 50 reviews! New record! New goal is 60**

**Hope: Why are you torturing me O_O?**

**Kai: Revenge for being soooooo whinny DX and dying on me so many times XD**

**Hope: Hey D:**

**Kai: Zip it XD I am thinking of your destruction :D MWHAHAHA**

**Hope: O.O *holds up a 'help me' sign***

Chapter 9: Welcome to Gran Pulse

Hope groaned as he slowly stood up from his fall. His head hurt, his legs hurt, everything hurts. Why, just why did they have to throw him off that cliff? Into the Gran Pulse portal! Just why?! Hope looked around nervously at the green filled land. Flying monsters along with wolf like monsters running across the land. Behemoth's fighting a pack of wolves, Chocobo's running for their lives, giant turtle**(yes they remind me of turtles) **dinosaur like monsters roaming the land. The smell of nature flowing into your nose, the starlit sky showed the stars so clearly that they dazzled like diamonds, unlike back in Cocoon. Gran Pulse was a very beautiful place, but it was more dangerous then beautiful. All the monsters were vicious and out here, it is survival to the fittest. For some reason, Hope felt like he knew this place, as if in a distant memory. He looked around cautiously then froze when he was face to face with a pack of the wolf like monsters. They were snarling threateningly, ready to strike.

"Time to go..." Hope whispered as he slowly took steps back when the wolfish monsters closed in on him.

Hope then turned and bolted away, he wolfish creatures hot on his tail. He breathed roughly as he ran like the wind, knowing he needs to get out from the open, otherwise he will easily surrounded. He kept running till he ran through a dense forest. He tripped over a root but quickly got up and kept running. He slammed his arms against branches that got in his way and climbed over fallen trees. Hope glanced back and saw the wolfish creatures running after him, easily weaving through the trees and snarling madly. Teeth snapping for fresh meat and gazes hungry for blood. Hope was paying too much attention to the wolfish creatures, he didn't notice a King Behemoth right in front of him and he slammed right into it. Falling backwards onto his rear. He groaned then blinked seeing the snarling beast turn to him and roar.

"Oh great Eden no!" said Hope as he looked back at the incoming wolfish creatures.

Quickly thinking, Hope rolled to the side and the wolfish creatures slammed right into the King Behemoth's face. Hope didn't stay around long to find out what happened next as he ran through the forest for his life. The two species looked at eachother, nodded, then ran after him. Their thundering steps making it seem like the ground was shaking. As Hope ran for his life, he felt his head throb as visions ran through his mind. Familiar images, so very familiar. The very path he ran, the monsters that chased him, the overwelming fear, it was all so familiar. All was missing was a piercing scream. Hope wanted the visions to stop, every single one was so very painful and his heart swelled and beat faster at the thoughts.

"Stop.... just stop..." Hope thought as he ran but they wouldn't, no matter how desperate he tried.

What were these visions? Were they just mere thoughts? No that wasn't likely. It felt like dejavu, like something he had done before but he sure didn't remember being chased by hungry monsters. Yet, these visions.... were they flashbacks perhaps? It couldn't be... it was impossible. He had never been here before! Never! Hope ran till he saw a river and another flashback crossed his mind. He saw himself running to it and looking back, then jumped into the river. The flashback ended as he stopped at the river and stared. He quickly looked behind him seeing the two species charge at him with loud thunderous roars. Hope's breath hitched and yelped when he could feel the creatures hot breath against his skin, and soon, he felt one of the wolfish creatures fangs dig into his flesh on his arm, close to his wrist. He tore the creature off of him and then fell into the cold icy water.

"Ah!" Hope yelped loudly as he raised his head out of the water and looked at the creatures roar in disapproval at losing their meal.

Hope hissed at the pain but was glad they were no longer chasing him. Of course, it wasn't time to relax yet. The current of the river grew stronger and Hope's eyes widened when he saw rapids. He screamed as he was slammed against the rocks and the current dragged him around like a ragdoll. He fought against the current to try to keep his head above water. Hope's eyes then widened, as far as the full moon, in horror at the sight he saw. A waterfall.

"Ahhhh!!!" Hope screamed loudly but no one could hear him. Even if there were someone around, the roaring falls would block out his terrified screams.

Hope soon plummeted below the waterfall. He shut his eyes as he fell one hundred feet below, crashing into the pool of water down below. He slowly opened his eyes as he floated underwater, feeling his body numb and unable to move. The water was as clear as crystal but also held some darkness in it. Hope's eyes widened when he saw a large creature that was similar to a crocodile except this one was a dark deep blue with piercing red eyes. Long fangs that looked razor sharp and were ready to rip apart some food and webbed feet propelled it through the water. Hope quickly started swimming away. The crocodile creature was fast though and was about to snap its jaws onto the boy's leg. Hope knew he head to do something so he quickly kicked the crocodile creature in the nose and pushed off of him to gain some momentum and swam faster. The crocodile creature seemed stunned a bit but soon took off after him, but Hope managed to get onto land. Hope panted as he crawled away from the water and could of sworn he heard the creature snort in frustration.

"Close one..." Hope panted as he flopped down and rolled over to his back and looked up at the starlit sky. He felt exhausted and he couldn't move anymore. Blood flowed from his injured arm his body felt numb from all that running. He just wanted to sleep.

Hope slowly felt his eyes droop, despite the cold air he felt, but it was all too much. Sleep soon captured its prey, and that would be Hope. Who he knew, would most likely die by morning.


	11. Chapter 10: Sad Memories

**Kai: Hi people ^-^ Okay just to let you all know O.o the **_Italics _**mean that Hope is in a dream/flashback. So do not freak out when the scene suddenly changes XD He is just in a dream flashback thing. This chapter I hope you all cry for Hope :D I do cause it is very emotional O.O or at least it's suppose to be.**

**Hope: o.o....**

Chapter 10: Sad Memories

_Hope smiled up at his dear mother beside him as they walked down the sidewalk peacefully. It was dark out and the night lights of the city shown brightly under the night sky. His mother smiled down at her son warmly as she held his hand. They were out on a walk since Hope was down because his father was too busy to spend any time with them. So his mother, Nora, decided they should take a stroll in the city. There was a small festival going around and fireworks hit the night sky shamelessly and glittered in the sky proudly. He was enjoying himself and glad his mother was with him. Always there. Hope yelped when he felt someone pull him into a alleyway, his mother also taken with him. They tried to scream for help but their mouths were tightly blocked by muscular hands. Hope managed to take a glance at his mother who had fear in her eyes. He was scared too, not only for him but for his mother too._

_"Give us all you got!" yelled a shadowy man. Hope couldn't see him in the dark though. _

_Hope felt roaming hands touch him everywhere in his body. From his shoulders and slowly down like a serpent slithering along. He shivered at the touch and he wanted to break away and run for it but the man holding him was too strong. _

_"They don't have much sir! The woman had a few diamonds but that is it." one of the men said to the shadowy gang leader._

_Hope heard a sharp snort then another guy say something._

_"What should we do with them? Should we kill them so they don't tell the cops? Or shall we rape them then kill them?" the man snickered and Hope froze at that then growled angrily._

_The gang leader huffed. "Are you nuts? The woman is too old to do but the boy might be interesting but I like them rough, he doesn't look like he'll put up a fight. Besides we don't have time for that, the cops will be on us soon enough and we have to get rid of them. Got it! Lets throw them into Gran Pulse! That way we don't have to get our hands dirty." the man bellowed with a evil laugh._

_Before Hope knew it, he and his mother were thrown off a cliff and diving into the gate to Gran Pulse. When Hope woke up, he looked around in fear at the strange place quickly stood up and looked for his mother._

_"Mom? Mom!" Hope called worriedly._

_"I'm right here, honey." Nora smiled next to him and Hope sighed relief and wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his head into her chest. Nora gently stroked his head comfortably._

_"What is this place mom?" asked Hope as he looked up at her and into her eyes._

_Nora's eyes saddened but still held her smile to him. "We are in Gran Pulse, Hope. A very dangerous place." she said as she felt Hope shiver in her arms._

_Hope looked at her sadly. "Well....we'll get home right?" he asked. Nora didn't answer. "Right mom?" he asked again._

_"Hope...." Nora said then her eyes widened when she looked ahead. Wolfish creatures charging toward them. "Hurry Hope! Run! Run!" she said as she took his hand and started running away._

_Hope struggled to keep up and he glanced back at the creatures. He yelped when they started catching up and he picked up his pace. _

_"Faster Hope!" his mother ordered as she pulled him along and into the woods._

_His mother pushed branches away and avoided falling over a root. Hope wasn't as lucky since he tripped but regained his balance. They climbed over a fallen tree then Nora quickly pulled Hope behind another tree and kept him there. They watched the wolfish creatures jump over the fallen tree with ease and they stopped seeing that they lost sight of their prey. They started sniffing around and growling as they looked for them. Nora watched for a moment then let go of Hope. He looked up at her in surprise. _

_"Mom?" he whispered but she smiled down at him._

_"Hope, listen to me carefully. I am going to distract those creatures and I want you to run as fast you can. Don't look back, understand?" Nora ordered quietly with a stern gaze._

_Hope stared at her in horror. "But mom...."_

_"No buts Hope.... listen to me. Don't worry.... mom's are tough. Before I go though, promise you will live, find a girl, get married, and have a wonderful life. Be strong my son." his mother smiled then pushed him away. "Now go." she said._

_She then turned and ran out in the open and into the wolfish creatures view. They snarled and barked and chased after her as she ran. Hope watched in horror, of course this was his chance to run away but... his mother. Hope ran after them, hiding himself with the trees. It didn't take him long to catch up and he hid behind a tree and looked at the scene in horror. The wolfish creatures jumped on his mother and bit down on her arms and legs. He heard her make a horrible scream that rang in his ears, he watched in horror as the creatures tore his mother apart, blood gushing out of her body. The creatures dug their fangs into her stomach and neck, ripping out some organs and devouring them, their mouth soon stained with his mother's blood. Hope couldn't take it anymore._

_"Mom!" he screamed in horror and froze when the creatures looked directly at him. _

_He stepped back as two came toward him, while the other two stayed with their newly caught prey. He felt his legs broken and unusable, but he had to run and run now. As the creatures charged, Hope turned tail and ran for his life. He ran as fast as he could as his eyes were stretched in horror as those images kept flashing in his mind. He was so busy horrified at what he saw, he barely noticed that he slammed right into a King Behemoth. He scrambled up and ran away from the monsters that chased after him with thundering steps. Hope panted and was already out of breath and he saw a river. He looked back at the monsters and clenched his teeth as he jumped into the river. He coughed as he struggled against the strong current. He looked at the angry monsters then stomp off, most likely back to his mother. He felt tears well in his eyes till his head was forcefully slammed against a rock by the current. He felt his head throb and then he blacked out._

_When he woke up again, he saw his father. His father asked if he remembered anything. Hope didn't and so he shook his head. _

_"Where is mom?" Hope asked as he looked around for his mother._

_His father looked sadly at his son. "You and your mother were in a car accident. You made it and lost your memory of it, but she didn't make it." his father said sadly with a sad expression._

_Hope looked at his father in shock and then he felt his eyes water and salty tears run down his cheeks, his light green eyes blocked off by sad tears. He felt his father hug him comfortably as he cried softly_

~Present~

Hope shivered in his sleep. Tears running down his face. He didn't know where he was and right now he didn't care. His dream and memory making his heart throb. Of course he didn't know a hand brush his wet cheek as he dreamed a sad dream.


	12. Chapter 11: Realizing The Truth

**Kai: Hi people ^-^ man you guys are like packs of dogs XD 'Update update update soon update update update soon as possible' I'm going as fast as I can XD -sneak on computer type- Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter ^-^ as sad as it is o.o. This one I think is going to be short. **

Chapter 11: Realizing the Truth

Hope groaned as he felt his eyes flutter open. Before he had felt cold but now was a bit warmer. He glanced around, there was a slight glow that hit the walls that showed wood that surrounded him. His back was against the wooden wall and as he looked around he saw he was in quite large circle that looked like the inside of a hallow tree. There was a blazing fire in the middle, the entrance just the other side of it. He noticed something red around him and also noticed someone was sitting at the entrance, looking out for any danger. That when he finally realized it was Lightning. He noticed she was missing her red cape that hung from her left shoulder armor and he guessed that was the red thing around him. He stared at Lightning for a long moment, wondering how she had managed to find him and save him once again.

"L-Lightning?" Hope said quietly as he watched her turn her head to look at him then stand up and walk over to him. Kneeling down beside him and looking down at his face.

"How did you find me?" Hope asked as he looked into her blue eyes.

Lightning looked at him and blinked slowly. "No one saw you for awhile so I went out to bring you back. I found those two idiots, from before, snickering about how funny it was to send you here. So I grabbed them, kicked their ass, and forced them to tell me where did you go. So I came here and followed the trail you made." she answered just as blunt as before.

Hope slightly smiled in amusement yet it was a weak smile. "Well.... thank you again for saving me.... I'm sorry you had to do it again. I guess I'll never be able to be as strong as you." he said with a sad sigh.

Lightning looked at him for a long moment before she said something. "You already have gotten stronger." she said and Hope looked at her in confusion. "Slowly, but it is showing. You stood up against Nupo, you managed to outrun monsters and survive a fall from a waterfall. Your a strong kid and you still keep that smile. Despite things that have happened." she said with a calm face but it was obvious she wasn't use to complimenting others.

Hope stared at her and smiled gratefully at her then saddened at his memory of his mother. "My father lied to me...." he said sadly and Lightning looked at him with slight confusion.

"Is it about your mother?" Lightning asked him.

Hope blinked and looked at her in surprise. "Yes but how did you---" he started till he was interrupted.

"You were mumbling her name in your sleep." Lightning answered coolly.

Hope nodded then slightly looked at the fire. "I was here before.....along with my mom.... she protected me from those same type of monsters and....and she died....she died and was killed because of me....I couldn't do anything... I lost my memory and my father told me she died in a car accident... why would he lie to me? Maybe it was so I didn't have to think about how much I failed that day." he said in depression.

Lightning looked at him and thought for a moment then moved so she leaned against the wall beside him and stare at the fire. "When I was young, during the Great War, my parents died during a skirmish between PSICOM and the Guardian Force. I failed to protect them and I almost lost Serah. I was ashamed of myself, and so I became Lightning, the one who would protect Serah from any danger. That was only when Lightning blossomed though. Near the end of the Great War, I had lost a dear friend of mine because of my immaturity, stubbornness, and being blind. I wasn't strong enough and I lost him. Still yet, I seem to fail at what I do. Since then, me and my sister haven't been that close because I am 'heartless.' So I guess... we both have failed in our duty." she said as she stared into the fire.

Hope looked up at her. Was that her way in.... comforting him? What a odd way yet.... he felt himself cheer up a bit. They had both lost a parent, he had lost his mother while she had lost them both. Yet his father lied to him in his face, he didn't quite know why but he would find out, sooner or later. Here was Lightning, talking about herself and trying, in her own way, to cheer him up. He smiled softly at her as he slowly sat up to sit beside her.

"Thank you." said Hope with a small smile.

"For what?" answered Lightning slightly glancing at him.

"For everything..." Hope answered with a brighter smile and pulled the cape closer to himself, in a attempt to keep warm.

Lightning closed her eyes to avoid looking at him. "Get some sleep. We head back at dawn." she said calmly and her usual self.

Hope smiled then looked at her shoulder. It was tempting to lean against it and use it as a pillow. Something told him to do it, or at least ask. His heart beating faster at the thought and he gulped a bit as he felt his face start to flush. He swallowed his timidness down though and looked at her.

"Um... Lightning?" Hope asked, his voice slightly shaky.

Lightning didn't open her eyes but she answered with a, "What?"

Hope gulped again. "D-Do you mind if I use....your s-shoulder to rest on?" he asked and almost jumped up when she snapped her eyes open and looked directly into his jade green eyes.

Hope almost panicked and broke eye contact by looking down at his gloved hands that shaking a bit. "Well.... just for the night so I can get some good sleep.... and warmth... but you know you don't have to I'm just saying that... you know... uh..." Hope kept stuttering around panicky but when he noticed that she didn't say anything. He blinked and raised his gaze to look up at her and noticed she had her head faced back toward the fire and her eyes closed. Her closest leg, her left, laying straight out while her right was bent and the foot was flat on the ground. Her right arm was wrapped around her sword, hand on the handle and was ready to get up and strike anything that came near, her left arm rested on her lap. Hope stared at her calm face for a long moment till she opened her left eye to look at him then closed it again and gave a brisk nod. That, he understood, was her approval. He smiled brightly then he hesitantly leaned against her shoulder comfortably and pulled her red cape closer to himself. His face was burning red and his heart was beating a mile a minute. Still, sleep soon came over him, so he closed his eyes and got comfortable.

"Thank you Lightning. Good night." Hope whispered with a soft smile. He might actually really like Lightning, she was cold yet.... she actually had a kind heart deep down in that cold exterior.

As sleep overcame him, he never noticed a soft smile creep up on the soldier's lips.


	13. Chapter 12: The Big Test

**Kai: Hi people ^-^ Okay I shall warn you all now O.O Ummm sooner or later there might be.... a few chapters that are full of fluff O.O FEAR FLUFFINESS (well that is until that one chapter) Soooo Yaaaa sorry if some chapters have a lot of fluffiness and things that make you go 'awwwwww.' it's just a lot of things popped in my mind O.O Like, for example, 'What would happen with Lightning during Christmas and snow(the white fluffy cold stuff not Snow the love-struck lovable idiot XD)?' So ya o.o and btw. You did not see that okay? XD**

Chapter 12: The Big Test

It had been a month since Hope and Lightning had returned from Gran Pulse. Lightning had brought a flying vehicle to fly us out of there, while avoiding flying monsters of course. Of course, she would swiftly take care of them with her blade and gun. To Hope, the two of them had grew even closer, she was still strict in training but she at least praised him when he did something correct. He would bring her something to at least a small snack to eat whenever it was lunch, then go back with the others and talk with them. In class, Lightning did her normal thing and looked out the window, but whenever he had problems on a assignment, he would ask her and she would explain it vaguely but enough for him to understand it. She was actually at the top of the class, despite not paying that much attention.

They talked a bit when in their room, only small conversations but that is better than her just ignoring him. Hope felt happy about this, and he felt like he had a stronger connection to her and considered them friends. Yet, the word 'friend' didn't completely sit well with him. Wasn't sure why but it just didn't. Sometimes, when they were in close combat and he could feel her warm breath against his skin, his face would flush and his heart would speed up and he would usually lose consentration and end up on the ground. When she brushed his hand with hers when she was explaining something, his body would shift into complete shock and bliss. It drove him mad and annoyed him greatly. Reason is, he had no idea why it was happening around Lightning, it never happened with anybody else, not even his own mother.

Of course, Hope was still happy, others were not. Time and time again, he would get pushed around by others. They were jealous that a wimpy little puppy like him got to be Lightning's lapdog. Often they would come to him and say cruel things to him, in the beginning, he would of been scared and backed down, but now he didn't and simply ignored them or said that he could hang out with whoever he wished. This usually earned him a good glare and sometimes a punch to the gut. Then they would laugh then would freeze when they noticed Lightning glaring daggers at them and threateningly walking over, that was when they got the hell out of there. Normally, a good glare from the soldier got rid of them. Nupo still tried to get Lightning to date him and sleep with him, which just earned him with another blow to the face. So everything was going well for Hope, till today.

Hope stared at the large Behemoth before him. All he wanted was to and look at the garden, that was all! Yet here was a Behemoth, ready to kill him in the field that was on the way to the garden. Lightning was standing quite a few feet away and had her arms crossed as she gazed between the two. Snow and the others were in the school cafeteria, watching intently, along with almost every other student in the whole school. Hope was busily staring into the Behemoth's hot deathly gaze. Hope glanced at Lightning, silently pleading for help, but she simply closed her eyes. She was going to ignore him with this thing.

"Lightning---" Hope called out then screamed when the Behemoth charged foreword.

Hope quickly jumped to the side and avoided the attack. Taking out his boomerang like weapon and slamming it against the Behemoth's side. The Behemoth roared in anger then swerved and smacked Hope in the side with the side of its horn. Hope grimaced and quickly jumped back and looked at Lightning again.

"Lightning! Help!" Hope called as he waved his arms in the air wildly, but the soldier continued to ignore his calls of distress.

Why wasn't she helping him?! Hope squeaked as he quickly rolled out of the way when the Behemoth tried to gorge the small boy's body with it's sharp horns. Hope clenched his teeth and smacked the Behemoth in the face his weapon. The Behemoth roared in anger then charged right into Hope. Hope grunted then he swiftly climbed on top of the Behemoth and took his weapon and with quick strong thrusts, hit the Behemoth in the head with his weapon. The Behemoth roared as blood splattered the ground around them. It then reared up, bucking violently in a effort to get the boy off. Hope held onto the beast's horns and slammed his weapon against the Behemoth's head and neck. Behemoth snorted, utterly annoyed down, then reared up quickly, knocking the silver blonde off. Hope shook his head as he held it with his right hand, in a slight daze then his eyes widened when the Behemoth swiftly turned to him. Its face just a few inches from him, and Hope could of swore he saw a victory smirk go on the beast's lips. Then the Behemoth used its powerful Hurl attack, hurling poor Hope fifty feet in the air.

"Oh Eden no!" yelped Hope as he quickly twisted his body around in midair and looked down at the creature.

Thinking fast, Hope raised his weapon over his head, then when gravity took over and forced the boy's body down, Hope did a midair roll when near the beast, slamming his weapon against the Behemoth's neck, the force making Hope fling off and neatly landing on his feet. He quickly turned and slammed his weapon against the Behemoth's snout, the force making the injured beast collapse. When Hope held his weapon in preparation to do a final blow to the neck, he was halted by Lightning as she set her hand on his two hands clasped around his weapon.

"That is enough. You did well." Lightning said calmly but she gave a small smile of approval.

Hope blinked and stared at her. You mean she wanted him to defeat this thing by himself?! Like a test?! He could of died! He was surprised he survived at all in fact. Yet, he felt pride well up in him and smile a bit when she smiled a bit. She had a beautiful smile, even if it was small. He then felt disappointed when she walked away from him. Why, he wasn't sure till he was suddenly ambushed when she was a far enough distance. Team Nora were busily surrounding him and congratulating him for his victory. Everyone else were in awe with his achievement, guessing that Lightning's training paid off. Hope looked around him at the mobs of people praising him and he smiled brightly, maybe that test wasn't so bad. He looked around for Lightning but he could no longer see her in the masses of people. To be honest, he would rather be with her for his victory.

~Later: Sunset~

Hope sat on a bench next to Lightning and panted heavily. Everyone had finally left him alone after many hours of talking to him and asking how he got so good in fighting. Afterwards, he had gone and looked for Lightning and found her on a bench in the garden. She was sitting there with her arms crossed and eyes closed when he got there and still was but she had one eye open to glance at him. He could use some nice cold ice cream right now. That was when he heard the familiar tune of a ice cream truck and he instantly perked up. He saw it at the garden gate, he quickly looked at Lightning.

"I'll be right back!" Hope said then swiftly walked to the ice cream truck, unlike Vanille who would of dashed over there as fast as she can. Lightning simply watching him.

When he returned, he had one ice cream cone in each hand. The one on his right vanilla, the left strawberry. He sat down next to Lightning once again and handed the strawberry ice cream cone toward her with a friendly smile. Lightning eyed it with a 'what are you doing' face then looked at him.

"Well.... I heard from Serah that you use to like strawberry flavored things so I decided to get you some ice cream." Hope cheered a bit as he waited for her to take it.

Lightning paused for a long moment. "I don't eat ice cream. If Serah said I did well that was a long time ago." she said then looked away from him.

When she did look back at him, he was pouting and making a sad face with sad puppy dog eyes. As if he was going to run away crying. Her left eyebrow twitched a bit at the sight.

"Stop it." she commanded.

"Stop what?" Hope answered innocently.

"Stop making that face." she ordered again.

"What face? This face?" Hope asked curiously as he pointed to his face with a index finger. "I just wanted you to have something cold. Doesn't hurt to try it." Hope said innocently as he watched Lightning narrow her eyes.

She then sighed then snapped it away from his grasp and held it in her left gloved hand. "Fine. Just this once understood?" she asked and watched him nod happily then lick his vanilla ice cream.

As Hope licked his around the base, getting any drops then licked the top, he glanced at her watching her just stare at it. He smiled in amusement as he watch her stare at her ice cream like she really didn't know what to do with this useless object. After a few minutes, she finally licked it once and then tested the taste in her mouth. Apparently, she approved it as she continued her slow licking her ice cream. For some weird odd reason, Hope found this enjoyable. He smiled widely as he ate his ice cream, his lips turning redder by the cold. When he turned his head to look at the soldier again, her face was just a few inches apart. He froze and he felt his face go hot and his heart beat fast, his hair spiked up a bit.

"L-Lightning?" Hope stuttered as he watched her raise her right hand up to his face.

She seemed to be examining him as her blue eyes locked onto his face. He gulped as he felt her thumb touch the corner of his lips. His face was tomato red and he prayed to Eden that he wouldn't notice his red face and beating heart. Then he blinked when she swiped it once against the corner of his lips then pulled away and rubbed her thumb against her index finger then continued to slowly lick her ice cream. He stared at her dumbfounded for a long time, she noticed this with one glance then closed her eyes calmly.

"You had ice cream all over your mouth." She said calmly.

Hope stared, his face still bright red. Holy crap she was beautiful but up close she was a fricken goddess. Thoughts ran through his head wildly and he felt himself fidget and become uncomfortable. He knew she had no other intention of getting that close to him but hell a part of him wished she do it again. Wait.... why was he even having these thoughts of the soldier?! She was cold, can be mean, a bit stubborn, indifferent.....kind deep down, cares for her family, protective, has beautiful skin, soft pink hair, nice pretty rosy red lips and those beautiful blue eyes and.... Oh crap! Hope blushed madly and tried to shake these thoughts away, managed to catch that she was staring at him.

"I'm okay, Lightning! Just.... brainfreeze!" Hope said as he made excuses of why he was being weird.

Lightning simply looked at him then continued eating her almost finished ice cream. Hope sighed in relief then he heard her speak.

"Hope."

"Yes Lightning?" Hope asked trying to make it not sound like a squeak.

"Call me Light." Lightning said simply like it wasn't important.

Hope blinked and smiled then nodded. "Light..." he said, getting use to the name. He then watched her. Looking at her face, then he blushed again then looked at his melting ice cream.

What was wrong with him?!


	14. Chapter 13: The Terror Of Vanille

**Kai: Hi people ^-^ Okay if your wondering where the hell that Behemoth came from XD well if you remember in the Chapter 7: Teaching chapter XD Monsters pop up occasionally, even in school O.O. One happened to be there, unlucky for Hope. Lightning simply saw it as a chance to test him XD Sooo yaaa that is what happened. And Yes he was using his Boomerang weapon thing O.o;;; I think I said 'boomerang like weapon' before in the last chapter XD**

Chapter 13: The Terror Of Vanille

Hope yawned tiredly as he walked in the cafeteria, occasionally saying a soft hello to everyone who greeted him. He had gotten a bit more popular after his battle with the Behemoth. Speaking of which, he remembered how Lightning stared at for a long while as authorites took it away. It seemed to have her attention none the less, and speaking of Lightning, she was the reason why he was currently tired. He couldn't stop thinking about her and glancing toward her side of the room and stare at her smooth back. He felt like a pervert and he tried to get sleep but it simply wouldn't come. When he did fall asleep, it was a hour before it was time to get up and head to class. Now he just didn't want to move, all the noise from the cafeteria seemed so far away. He slumped in his seat at Team Nora's table and settled his head comfortably on the hard surface. Of course that is until Vanille asks him a favor.

"Hey Hope! Could you do me a huge favor?" she asks with her usual happy smile.

"Hmmmmghmmm." Hope groaned out as his head layed motionless against the surface of the table.

Taking it as a yes, Vanille smiled happily and raised her arms to the air. "Great! Could you go get me a can of Orange Juice over there in the vending machine? Please and thank you." she said brightly.

Tiredly standing up and wobbling over to the vending machine nearby, he put a few coins in and looked in the machine. Seeing some Orange Juice at C3, he typed in C3 and watched the can fall out of its socket and bent down and took it out. He then wobbled back over to the table and sat down again. Sliding the drink over to Vanille. Vanille smiled happily and said loudly,

"Thank you Hope!" then she opened it and gulped it down.

"Hmphgha." Hope groaned again as he closed his eyes as he tried to take a nap.

Seconds went by for a long while, till Vanille suddenly busted up in a fit of giggles and hic's. Hope groaned wondering why she was giggling and he raised his head a bit to look at her, her cheeks were tinged pink and her emerald eyes were glazed over. She continued to giggle wildly and everyone else stared at her then they bolted out of the way. Hope blinked as he sat up and watched as Snow, Sazh, and Serah ducked under another table for shelter. He looked dumbfounded at them then when he looked toward Vanille, her face was just a few inches away. She was laying on her belly on top of the table, waving her legs in the hair and holding her head up with her hands that were held up with her elbows. She smiled brightly and dizzilly.

"Hey Hope! Wanna plfffay a game wiffth me?" Vanille asked as if she was drunk and hic'd again.

Hope stared at her for a long time. For some reason, he didn't feel as uncomfortable with her this close compared with Lightning. He shook his head a bit but he watched as Vanille stood up on the table looking down at him and taking out a rod like weapon.

"Oh come on Hope! It will be ffffun!" Vanille giggled then she brought her weapon down swiftly, wired like ropes wrapping around his arms and legs.

Hope yelped as she flung him to the ground hard then started twirling around rapidly. Making him spin round and round making him feel dizzy.

"What....is.....go.....ing....on....here!?" Hope yelled saying a syllable at a time since it was hard to speak clearly with how fast Vanille was spinning him.

He managed to glance towards his friends, and Snow picking up the Orange Juice can and examining it.

"Hmmm has 1% alcohol in it." Snow said as he looked at the can then at the two of them.

Hope groaned then screamed when Vanille suddenly through him against the wall, breaking right through it so he landed outside. He groaned and slowly got up and his eyes widened when Vanille skipped out and threw the wired like ropes on him again, tangling him with him. She then raised him up then slammed him in the ground then lifted him up and slammed him on the other side of her. She repeated this process several **several **times. She drug him along the ground and slammed him against a wall again.

"Vanille! Stop!" Hope begged for his life, never **ever** going to give her alcohol again.

"B-but it's fun!" Vanille giggled as she slammed him into the ground again.

Hope groaned but blinked when he layed still there. He looked over at Vanille and stared in horror as Vanille jumped high in the air, then soon came crashing down and dropkicking him, with both of his feet, right in the stomach. Hope was too knocked out of breath to even scream in agony. Hope shivered and groaned in agonizing pain and stared up in horror as Vanille giggled and made for another painful blow but stopped when a voice rang in the air.

"Hey darlin! What are you up to now? Getting into trouble I suppose." called the voice as both Hope and Vanille looked toward where it came from.

There stood a beautiful woman wearing blue clothing with midnight spikish black hair and eyes that look like black and almost grey. She had a strange tattoo at her upper arm and she had a nice tan. She had a long spear strapped to her back and her hands were resting on her hips as she slightly grinned at them both.

Hope blinked at the woman for a long moment and watched as Vanille immiedietly lose interest in him, flung her arms in the air, then bolt over to the stranger at full speed as she smiled happily.

"Fang!"


	15. Chapter 14: Dang

**Kai: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile but I was soo busy with homework XD. BTW! Warning in this chapter. Major Fang x Vanille. Just to let you all know ^-^ and yes this chapter is meant for you to go 'huh o.o'**

Chapter 13: Dang.....

Vanille groaned as she held her throbbing head. It was pulsing and the throbbing just wouldn't stop. Pretty much what happened was that she instantly fell asleep when she ran into Fang's arms. In around a hour later, she found herself in the Nurse's Office. Fang was by her side and told her what happened. Fang must of carried her to the Nurse's Office and sat there tilll she woke up. Vanille felt so embarrassed and guilty for hurting poor Hope like she did. She would have to apologize to him right away when she sees him. At least her hangover should die down soon. At this moment, her and Fang were slowly making their way through the school's empty halls. Walking side by side. Her and Fang were childhood friends, coming from Gran Pulse. Sure people didn't like that fact but if anyone bothered her or Fang about it, well, Fang would pull out her spear and dare them to say it again. Like Lightning, Fang was also one to be highly feared, but she wasn't as solitary and silent as Lightning. Fang was always ready for a battle and she had a kind personality, that was also highly protective when it came to Vanille. She still had a kind soul and fights for what she believes in, speaking her mind.

"You alright Vanille? I could always carry you, you know." Fang said as she looked at the shorter girl next to her.

Vanille smiled and nodded. "Ya I'm fine Fang, quit worrying." she chuckled but then she stopped in the middle of the hallway.

Fang stopped next to her and looked at her curiously.

"It's good to see you again... I'm glad you weren't hurt...." Vanille said in a silent whisper.

Fang blinked again then a grin crept up on her face and she put her hands on her hips. "Well I think I can hold my own decently."

Vanille looked at her and pouted. "I know you can! But that doesn't stop me for worrying! Especially when you went in the middle of their base!" she said then frowned a bit. "So... did you find out anything?" she asked.

Fang's grin disappeared at the thought and she closed her eyes. "Well Lightning sure won't be happy. I almost killed all them myself, but then I would have to hear you cry about how I got myself into trouble." she said then chuckled when Vanille yelled 'hey.'

Vanille's emerald eyes then saddened. "Why do you have to put yourself in so much danger?" she asked quietly.

Fang sighed and put her hands on Vanille's shoulders. "You know I have to. We need to study their motives before they cause trouble for me and you. And Lightning of course." she said with a small smile.

Vanille looked at her uncertain. "But why can't I go? I'm just in much trouble as you." she said as her eyes shook a bit.

"Because I don't want you to be in danger. And it's better if only one person goes. Otherwise we all would be in trouble." Fang said with a smile.

"Well what about Lightning? You know she just wants as much information as we do. Maybe even more, but you still haven't told her." Vanille said, concern glittering her emerald eyes.

Fang sighed but still held her slight grin and she shook her head. "Well if we told Lightning then she would be outta here and gone and probably never come back. We don't want that now do we? Besides it's best if she lays low for awhile after that little event before." she said and watched as Vanille sighed and nodded in understanding.

"I guess your right." Vanille sighed again.

"Of course I am." Fang grinned jokingly then chuckled when she felt Vanille pout at her again.

"Fang your mean!" Vanille said then struggled to get out of the taller girl's grasp, but Fang was too strong.

Fang smiled then pushed her gently till Vanille was pinned against the wall. The gentle thump echoing in the halls. Vanille huffed a bit and looked into Fang's dark eyes, looking quite dangerous. Fang leaned closer, her face just a few inches away from Vanille's. Moving as smooth as a viper on the prowl for prey. Vanille felt a blush come to her cheeks and she slightly looked down to keep her gaze away from the black haired girl's face.

"F-Fang... were in the middle of the hallway." Vanille whispered as she felt the other girl's hot breath against her skin.

"It's fine. No ones around, besides... let them look, I sure don't care." Fang said smoothly with that same smile on her face as she pulled closer. Keeping a firm grasp on the shorter girl's shoulder.

Vanille blushed as Fang pulled closer, then, like a viper's strike, Fang locked lips with the younger girl. Vanille's eyes fluttered closed as she felt the soft lips touch hers. Fang was a bit rough but she tasted kind of sweet, maybe a bit of spice. Kind of like her personality. Her and Fang grew up together in Oerba, on Gran Pulse. Sure, at first, they were just friends and Vanille watched as Fang dated quite a few people. They didn't last long though. After the two received a mission from the elder to go to Cocoon and see what they are up to, Fang had been quite foreward. Sure Vanille liked her friend that way for a long time but, she didn't want to be Fang's temporarily play thing. But Fang made it quite clear that she had feelings for Vanille. Only reason she dated others was to prepare herself, testing. She didn't love anyone of them, which is sort of mean but at that point, Vanille didn't care. She would get these kisses when she wanted instead of dreaming about it.

Vanille gasped as Fang deepened the kiss and leaned against her more, pinning her forcibly to the wall. "Fang...." she whispered.

Fang simply grinned and deepened the kiss, running her tongue along Vanille's lips.

Just around the corner, Hope stared at the two with a huge blush on his face. He stared dumbstruck at the scene, for some reason he couldn't take his eyes off. Snow and Serah came over to him, looking at him curiously.

"Hey Hope, what are you looking --aaaaatthh." Snow started then froze when he saw Fang and Vanille. Staring for a moment then wrapping a arm around Hope's neck then covering his eyes with his hand.

"This isn't something for kids to see." Snow whispered as he stared and kept his grip on Hope as he struggled.

Serah giggled. "Then you shouldn't be watching since your girlfriend is right next to you."

Snow grinned. "Well it's hard to avoid with those two."

"W-wait! So there dating each other?! Bu-but their both girls!" Hope whispered as he tried to pry Snow off of him.

"But they are so adorable together." said Serah as she smiled.

"And Fang kicks ass enough to beat all of us if we argue." said Snow as he chuckled.

Hope struggled then stopped when he managed to pry Snow's hand away from his eyes and saw Lightning walk by him. He watched as Lightning turned the corner and walk down it, only pausing to look towards them.

"Fang.... did you see anything?" Lightning asked calmly, as if not noticing the two making out.

Fang paused and pulled away from Vanille a bit to look at Lightning. "Nope not yet hun. They haven't changed a bit quite yet. I'll keep a look out next time." she said with a grin.

Lightning gave a brief nod. "Fine.... but if your lying.... you won't see the light of day." she said icy cold then turned and continued walking.

Fang grinned. "Well then that should be a fight to remember huh?" she said then looked at Vanille. "Now where were we?" she said, almost like a purr.

Vanille blushed then pushed Fang gently away from her. "Fang! Quit embarressing me." she said then put her hands to her face, covering it to hide her blush.

"Well we could always have fun in our room, right?" Fang grinned then dodged a smack from Vanille.

"You.... perverted meanie!" Vanille yelled, as if angry then quickly stomped away, where Lightning was headed.

Fang smiled as she walked after her partner. Hope stared a bit. They were so strange. Yet, even with all that happened, what exactly were they talking about with Lightning?


	16. Chapter 15: Christmas

**Kai: Hey guys! Man Fang I think you made a impression.**

**Fang: Pleasure to ablige.**

**Kai: Take my warnings seriously guys XD What I say isn't in bold for nothing.**

**Raines: Sometimes it is.**

**Kai: -.- Anyways! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter ^-^ CHRISTMAS!**

Chapter 15: Christmas

Hope watched as students rushed passed him and screamed in happiness at finally getting out of school. Today was Christmas Eve. Some most likely going to see their family, but Hope wasn't going to go and see his father. He didn't have a strong connection with the man in the beginning, now that he found out that his own father lied to him about his mother's death, it didn't help the situation at all. According to everyone else, Snow and Serah were going to be together for christmas of course, Sazh said that he was going and spend the time with his son named Dajh, Fang and Vanille were going to spend time together and Vanille looked a bit embarressed in what Fang might do, and Lightning.... well... according Serah, she just stays in the dorm room. Hope frowned at the thought. Lightning spent Christmas all by herself? All alone? Hope always spend Christmas time with his mother, his father was far too busy to spend time with them. His mom always did her best to make up for his father's absense though. Now that she was gone, he really didn't have anyone to spend it with either. But Lightning... well.. Serah said that Lightning hadn't done anything for Christmas since their parents died. Hope thought as he walked down the now empty hallway, toward his room. He then had a idea, maybe he should celebrate it with Lightning.

"She might not want to though." Hope mumbled as he glanced out the window, looking at the now white land.

Hope sighed as he felt his heart torn at the thought of it. He grumbled as he wondered why he had been feeling like this for awhile now, noticing it just a few months ago when they had ice cream. He still hadn't figured it out but it just kept getting worse. He would blush everytime he would take a glance at her body and worse if it was her face. He would freeze and stare when her eyes locked onto him. His heart pumped a mile a second and he felt his breathing come in haste breaths. He felt jittery around her, but he also longed to be with her and see another smile cross her face. Even just a little. Hope sighed and ran his hands through his silver blonde hair in frustration.

"Why do I feel this way when I'm around her?!" he growled to himself in confusion then stopped when he reached his dormroom.

He gulped as he tried to get up the courage to ask his roommate to go out with him and celebrate Christmas with him. He took a few deep breaths, puffed out his chest then slowly opened the door and took a few steps inside and looked around. He then saw Lightning simply spread out on her bed, on her side and her front facing the wall. It didn't seem like she had any plans to go anywhere. Hope took another breath as he closed the door behind him and walked to the middle of the room and faced her. His thumbs pressing against his fists nervously.

"What is it?" Lightning's voice rang in the air, bouncing off the walls. Being the cold and calm soldier she was. Obviously, she already knew he wanted to talk to her about something.

Hope gulped and took a breath again. "Well... um... I wanted to ask.... if your not doing anything this week..." Hope said slowly.

"I'm not." Lightning replied, most likely wanting to get straight to the point.

Hope blinked slowly and he felt a blush come across his cheeks and his green gaze go to the floor. "Well..... I wanted to ask... if you would like to spend your Christmas.... with me?" he asked nervously, shuffling his feet.

Lightning didn't move from her position, her back to him so he couldn't take a guess what she was feeling. Hope gulped as fear enveloped him and worry as the silence lingered on. Hope's hand shook as he waited for her answer. The silence practically destroying him. He then perked up when he heard her voice once again.

"....I guess it's fine. Where are you planning for us to go?" she asked quietly, keeping her back to him.

Hope blinked in shock. His mouth open and closing like a fish. He then shook his head and calmed down. "Ummm... I was thinking to the garden. It's quiet and a great spot to view the fireworks....And I know you enjoy going there." he said as hope sparkled in his eyes.

Another pause. But then Hope watched as Lightning smoothly rolled over and sit up then stand up. Brushing off her clothes and looking at him.

"Alright." said Lightning, keeping her calm commando composure, her expression unreadable.

Hope smiled brightly, almost jumping for pure joy. "Great! We better get going then! The sun is going down and we don't want to miss anything, right?" Hope said with a childlike laugh.

Lightning simply looked at him. Briefly nodding then blinked when she felt his hand grasp her's. She looked at him suspiciously though he was too excited to notice. Practically leading her out the door.

~Later: 11:50 PM~

Hope stared up in awe as fireworks glittered the sky. They both sat on the bench they sat on when they had ice cream together. Lightning and Hope wore their same old clothes but Hope had a nice warm orange coat. Lightning didn't have anything warm on but of course she looked perfectly fine, despite being in the cold of the snow. Today, they had mostly just walked around the garden, Hope did, however, go and get them some hot chocolate. Lightning said she didn't need it but Hope insisted that she needed something warm. She finally gave in after his pestering and was sipping her drink occasionly. Hope's eyes glittered with the firework's lights but Lightning's eyes seemed to shine brightly with every color that shinned into them. Hope felt his blush come back to his cheeks, this time he was able to blame it on the cold. As minutes ticked by, Hope took a deep breath then took something out of his pocket. He then handed it toward Lightning, who looked at him and his gift.

"What is--" Lightning started but was interrupted by a very nervous Hope.

"Well... I just thought I would give you a present for Christmas. I know it isn't much but it reminded me of you." Hope said as he looked at the ground. "Since you have thorns like one, but your still so sweet and beautiful, I just thought you were like a rose."

Lightning stared at him then at the red rose in his gloved hands, they were slightly shaking, though they were gripped tightly together in order to prevent more shaking. Lightning soon reached out with her right hand and took the flower in her gloved hand. She pulled it to herself and seemed to be examining it. Hope glanced up at her nervously, afraid to see her reaction but blinked when he saw a small smile on her face. As snow fell from above and seemed to make her skin glow along with the frozen rain water. Her eyes seem to glow along with the snow and dazzle with the fireworks. He was in awe.

"Thank you, Hope. I actually do like this present, for something so simple." Lightning said calmly yet her smile was still on her face.

Hope smiled brightly and he felt warmth go through him. As he watched her gentle small smile and examine the rose in her hands. He then felt the tug in his heart again and he almost winced. The feeling was back, but this time it felt warmer. He almost growled in frustration till something finally dawned on him. Why was it that she was the only one that made him feel this way? Not anyone else? Not even his own mother? He remembered once when his mother told him that he will find someone he would love even more than her. Maybe he finally had a small hint in why he felt this way with the soldier.

He had fallen in love with her. A dangerous act indeed.


	17. Chapter 16: Sick?

**Kai: Hey guys! Yes Lightning's relationship with everyone is a bit strange O.O and avoids them like the plague XD mostly. For a 'reason' o.o I shall not say. But SOON, SOON it shall be reveiled :D No not in this chapter XD I shall make you all die from anticipation XD no jk I don't want any of you to die :D I just like having people read ^-^ Ohhh O.O 89 reviews.... New goal.... 100 reviews! Almost there too ^-^ Anyways I hope you enjoy. *Stares at the long review I recieved* o.o**

Chapter 16: Sick?

Hope sighed again as he sat on his bed. It was now spring, in April. Since Christmas, Hope had been trying desperately to avoid Lightning like the plague. Of course that was difficult for two reasons. One was because they practically go to the same places, have the same class and share the same room. The other reason was because his body had a mind of its own. No matter how much he screamed to walk the other way, his body would automatically walk after Lightning. Another thing was he always acted weird, often staring at Lightning during class and lunch. Of course quite a few people noticed this. Mostly Team Nora. Snow and Sazh often teased him about how he was staring. Serah would giggle and would say that she was glad her sister had such a loyal follower. Vanille would giggle and was happy Lightning was actually socializing with someone. Fang would stay calm and simply shrug it off but she still had a small grin on her face. Lightning had noticed his strange behavior and would often raise a eyebrow at him whenever he was nervously balling his fist or shuffling his feet or having a blush on his face. She would ask and he would respond with something like 'just nervous about the tests' and she would simply nod and shrug it off, most likely knowing that wasn't the reason but wasn't willing to push the boy. Hope groaned and he face palmed himself in the forehead.

"Why is this so fricken hard?!" Hope mentally yelled, wanting to pound his head against the wall but was afraid in awakening Lightning, who was sleeping on her bed, facing the wall.

Hope sighed again. Why did he have to fall in love in college with someone older than him? Especially the girl who could kill him and is the most feared person at school and is a expert fighter. Why couldn't he find a girl his age, who wasn't so dangerous and was nice and sweet and fall in love with her instead? But no he had to fall in love with her. When he looked up to look at Lightning and noticed something. He noticed a soft shiver run through her body. He blinked in curiosity and looked closer from where he sat and saw a few strands of hair, nearest to her face, wet from sweat. If he was a normal person, he wouldn't of noticed, but then he wasn't normal. Must be a love thing. He slowly got up and off of his bed.

"Light? Are you okay?" He asked quietly and slightly worried.

He didn't hear a single answer from the female soldier for a long time. But when he took a few steps closer, her voice rang through the air. Though it sounded sort of normal, Hope noticed that she was trying to force her voice sound normal.

"I'm fine." she answered smoothly.

Hope wasn't quite sure what to do. She told him to never go to that side of the room without permission, but his worry overcame him. He slowly walked over to her bedside.

"I don't think so... Light what's wrong?" Hope asked gently as he put a hand on her shoulder, but he felt her hand softly smack his away. It wasn't as strong as it normally was.

"I am fine, Hope. Get back to bed." Lightning stated with a bit more harshness to get him away.

Hope looked at her sadly and he swore he caught a glimpse of her chest, something glowing from it but he quickly looked away out of embarrassment. He took a deep breath and brought up his courage.

"No. Something's wrong. Let me help you, Light. Please?" Hope begged as his eyes glittered.

"No." growled Lightning stubbornly.

"Please?"

"No"

"Please?"

"No"

"Please?

"Fine." Lightning finally said, seeing that the boy wasn't going to give up.

Hope heard her shift her hands and zip up her shirt a bit for some reason. Then she slowly rolled over onto her back. Hope gapped in surprise, she was slightly sweating, face moist and her flushed face caused by the heat. Her wet hair clinging to her body and face, her crystal blue eyes slightly duller. Hope took off his right glove and put his hand on her forehead. He yelped a bit and pulled it back.

"Your burning up!" Hope yelled then quickly silenced himself when he saw Lightning close her eyes at the loud noise. "How did you get sick?" he said in worry. Knowing full and well that a soldier don't get sick easily.

Lightning didn't answer, simply turning her head to the side to look at the wall again. Obviously, not going to tell him anything about the reasons.

"It's fine. I'll get over it soon." Lightning muttered under her breath, mostly talking to herself.

Hope blinked in confusion but he shook his head. He had to take care of her. He soon stood up and was about to head to the door.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to get Vanille and Serah. They might know how to help you." Hope said but as he went for the door, there was a strong hand that grabbed his wrist and pulled him back with a harsh jerk. He could of swore his arm was going to fall off, but he managed not to fall and he looked down at Lightning who was fixing her gaze on him with coldness, maybe desperation.

"No. Don't tell anyone, especially Serah." Lightning said coldly and sternly.

Hope looked into her eyes, scared by her cold and insistent gaze. He sighed but he slowly nodded, respecting her wishes and he kneeled to the ground next to her and placed his free hand on her hand that was grasping his trapped one.

"Alright.... but I will if you get worse." Hope said as he looked at her in concern. He didn't know why she didn't even want her own sister here but he wasn't going to push it.

Lightning sighed but she nodded and let go of his wrist and closed her eyes to rest. Hope then stood and got some medicine and a wet washcloth and placed it onto her forehead. Then handed her the medicine to her.

"Take this... it might make you feel better." Hope said and he watched as the girl slowly sat up, took it then swallowed them with no problem. Then went back to laying down.

Lightning closed her eyes again. Hope watched her till all the way till midnight. He yawned a bit as he watched her, sleeping peacefully now. He knew he should get to bed, since he had class in the morning but yet again his body stayed put. He sighed but smiled as he watched her sleep, now noticing she didn't argue that much about him being on this side of the room. His wandering gaze then landed on her lips. He blushed and shook his head as thoughts ran through his head.

"I can't do that! She would kill me! And she's a light sleeper! and that would make me a pervert! And...and that is sexual harassment....gahhhh...." Hope screamed in his mind as he felt sweat go down his face. His body thought otherwise though.

He watched in horror as his body slowly bent down so his face was near hers. He screamed at himself to not do it but again his body ignored him. Hope blushed as he forced his body to only kiss her cheek then he quickly pulled away. His heart pumped and he felt hot and sweaty. Holy crap why the hell did he do that?! Even if it was only on the cheek?! Oh Eden what if she felt that?! He was going to die! His panic was soon overlapped with happiness as he touched his lips, feeling the soft flesh Lightning had. Boy he was a love struck idiot.

~Two days later~

Hope coughed roughly as he lay in his bed. He groaned as he felt cold and his body shiver uncontrollably. Of course he gets sick. Lightning was right that she would recover quickly. She was fine the next day, Hope of course got sick and was in badder shape. He wasn't able to hide his pain and he had a feeling it would last a long time. He sighed but blinked when he felt a wet washcloth on his forehead. He glanced up and saw Lightning stand next to his bed then kneel down. He smiled at her a bit and blushed.

Lightning looked at him and said calmly, "As repayment for helping me a bit..... and the rose..." she said as she then glanced away.

Hope smiled and chuckled. "Ya... thank you..." he said. Watching Lightning slightly nod. Though he was embarrassed at the small peck on the cheek he gave Lightning, and he got sick from it, he was sort of happy he did it, since it didn't seem like Lightning noticed it.


	18. Chapter 17: Oh! My! God!

**Kai: Hey guys! :D This is when things start get interesting O.O very very interesting. MWHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHA**

**FF13 Cast: *stares* o.o**

**Kai: *blinks back* o.o GET IN THERE! *throws them in***

Chapter 17: Oh! My! God!

Hope mumbled as he walked down the hall by himself. He had went and delivered some papers to Raines for Sazh, now was heading to lunch. He had finally gotten over that dreadful sickness. At least, everyone visited him often, which simply annoyed Lightning but she would take the frustration till she thought they were there long enough then would kick them out. He still felt sort of giddy about what he did to Lightning. Getting near her was hard, but just making a slight peck to the cheek was extremely difficult. He sighed again as he walked along then screamed loudly when a jolt of electricity shot through his body. He then fell flat faced to the ground with a thud and his eyes got blurry and his mind was spinning. He managed to take a glance up to see Gek and Zeeke with tazers in their hands, before he passed out.

When Hope woke up, he found himself being dragged along on the floor, by a rope. Which, was tied up around his body tightly around his torso and chest. His legs were tied together also, making him unable to move his limbs. He looked around and looked up to where the rope was attached to and saw Zeeke pulling the rope along with little effort. Hope growled and tried to struggle.

"Hey let me go!" Hope demanded as he flopped along like a fish, as he was dragged across the tiled floor.

"Eh quiet down! I can't believe that bitch saved your ass on Gran Pulse! Well, this time your so in for it." growled Gek with a wide smirk.

"Don't call Light a bitch! You....idiotic moron!" Hope growled as rage swept through his eyes at the insult to his secret crush.

"Ooooo so protective aren't we? Does the baby have a little crush on her?" laughed Gek teasingly.

"Little crush, little crush!" Zeeke laughed.

Hope blushed madly and shook his head. "N-no I don't! Now let me go! Where are you taking me?!"

"Oh just to show off our new trophy with everyone in the cafeteria." smirked Gek.

"Yup yup!" Zeeke grinned.

Hope rolled his eyes as he continued to struggle against the ropes. Though the pain from the tazer attack was still effecting him. When they reached the cafeteria, everyone turned to stare at them. Lightning was in her usual spot and she opened her eyes to look across the room at them. She stood and stared coldly at them. Gek smirked widely and confidently.

"Hey little Lightning! We have your little friend here! Do anything and we'll hurt him badly now! If you want us to let him go your going have to bow down to us and beg us to let him go." Gek smirked, obviously thinking this would work and this would make him so popular.

Team Nora stared at them like they had two heads, or actually none. Lightning calmly and slowly walked toward them, looking quite dangerous, and you could almost feel a black aura of doom radiate off her. People shivered as she passed by. Zeeke was getting a little worried.

"Um...Gek I don't think this was a good idea..." Zeeke said warningly.

"Eh... don't worry about it. She cares too much for this punk to actually do anything." Gek grinned and looked toward her. "You better stop or this boy's going to get it." he said as he held up a tazer. But Lightning just kept on coming.

"They are officially, the biggest idiots in the entire world." noted Sazh.

"You got that right." Snow said in agreement while the three girls watched with interest. Serah worried that her sister would actually murder someone.

When Lightning finally reached the two, she unsheathed her sword and raised it back, ready to strike. Gek was a bit in a panic. "Wait wait! Don't you get it?! We have your little buddy here and----" he started then screamed as he ducked a swift slash, almost cutting off his head. People stared and gulped.

Lightning made a move to kill the morons till Snow stopped them.

"Hey hey sis! Calm down! I'm sure we can settle this more nicely." Snow said with a grin as he walked over, earning a quick glare from Lightning.

"I'm not your sister." Lightning stated.

Snow grinned as he thought. "How about we do a little contest instead?" he asked and watched the four people stare at him.

"Better then shedding blood everywhere. How about a drinking contest? Who ever drinks the most shots will win the custody of Hope. But whoever loses.... will have to walk around school the whole day naked." grinned Snow earning him glares from both Lightning and the two bullies.

"Are you outta your mind! No way!" yelled Gek but was soon stopped by a smirking Snow.

"Well if not, Lightning could always chop you guys up. She doesn't joke either." grinned Snow as he pointed a thumb at the female soldier.

Gek and Zeeke looked at each other then at Lightning then each other again. Whispering to each other then looked at Snow and grinned and nodded.

"Fine, we'll do it! How hard could it be? Lightning hasn't taken a sip of alcohol before anyway. It should be easy." Gek said with a grin, gaining confidence again.

Snow looked at Lightning. "So how bout you? You don't want to waist your blade with these guys do ya?" he grinned as she watched her glare at him but closed her eyes and sheath her sword.

"Fine." was her answer and Hope stared in horror.

"Hey you guys can't make me some kind of prize ya know!" Hope yelled as he struggled.

"Oh relax Hope! You'll be back to normal in no time!" Snow laughed.

~Later: 9:00 PM at a bar~

Hope muttered angrily, while tied to a table where Lightning sat at one side, and Gek and Zeeke just across from her, on the other side of Hope. Why they had attached him there was beyond him. He sighed as he tried to ignore the alcohol smell. Everyone was piled around the table and watched in anticipation. Lightning looked a bit annoyed and seemed to want to get this over with. Hope watched as glasses of Moogle Mog was set on each side.

"Ready? Set? Drink up!" said Sazh as the referee.

Gek and Zeeke started gulping down the liquid, Lightning was more calm about it as she drank hers more slowly. Sure Gek and Zeeke were going faster but after the third glass of Moogle Mog, they felt dizzy and looked about to pass out. Which they did after another sip. Hope blinked at them and then looked at Lightning who was soon, already on her eighth glass. Hope stared at her with mouth open. How the hell could she hold her liquor?! Did they do training on that too or something?! Then she was on her tenth, drank it all then set it down.

"Done." she said simply, looking the same calm self as usual. Though she was a bit flushed in the face from all the drinks.

"Wow. New record. Last time it was eight." laughed Snow.

"How the....what?!" Hope asked blinking.

"Oh. Well Lightning is the best at holding her liquor, even Moogle Mog. She doesn't get that bad of headache's either, but she does sleep a long long time." laughed Snow.

Serah giggled. "Ya. She practiced a lot as a kid. To 'prepare' herself if this kind of thing happened or some people forced her to drink alcohol so she wouldn't be able to fight back." she laughed at the thought.

"Might want to take her home though. She might seem find but alcohol still effects her." grinned Fang as she untied the boy.

Hope sat up and stretched and stared at Lightning who blinked slowly, trying to adjust her eyes but she stood up coolly.

"Let's go." she said then swiftly walked out of there.

"Oh I can't wait for these two big day." Fang grinned evilly.

"Fang...." Vanille said as she looked at her, already knowing that she was going to set them in some embarrassing place so they couldn't back down on the dare.

Hope blinked but then swiftly walked after Lightning.

When they reached their room, Lightning instantly sat down on her bed and put a hand to her head. Hope closed the door behind him and walked over to her, looking down at her.

"You okay?" Hope asked in concern.

"I'm fine. Just need to sleep it off." Lightning answered as she took a breath.

"You didn't have to do that...." Hope said looking to the ground.

"It's fine.... Should of killed them though." she grumbled with slight irritation.

Hope smiled at her as he looked at her face and then blushed. That beautiful flushed face, it was so.... attracting. And those lips and those eyes. Awe damn. He was doing it again, curse this curse of love. He wanted to tell her badly but he was afraid in how she would react. What should he do? She might hate him forever and would never speak to him again. But if he didn't tell her, he would have to deal with pain for the rest of his life. Never knowing the answer. Hope breathed deeply. He had to tell her, even if she hated him for it. He just couldn't keep pretending he didn't have this feeling any more. He turned and faced her.

"Light....." he said to get her attention.

"What?" she asked as she moved her hand to her lap and looked at him with half closed eyes.

"I-I need to tell you something...." Hope said nervously, shuffling his feet.

Lightning looked at him, raising a eyebrow. "What is it?" she asked.

Hope took a deep breath and tried to calm his nervous though he still gulped nervously. Lightning looked a bit impaitent.

"Well?" she said, her voice bouncing off the walls of the room.

Hope gulped again and he stepped closer to her, bending foreward, with a hard blush on his face. He took another breath as he saw her eyes widen a bit at his closeness. "I...I....." Hope started and gulped again. He then swiftly cupped her face with his gloved hands and let out a whisper.

"I love you." then he crashed his lips with hers.

**Kai: CLIFFY!!!!! Major Cliffy! I bet you all hate me now! MWHAHAHA! *runs away from reviewers throwing objects***

**Lightning: *stares* O_O**

**Hope: *gaps* O_____________________________________________O OMG**


	19. Chapter 18: The Response

**Kai: I bet you guys are pretty mad at me eh? XD And you really want to read this eh? Hmmm what shall happen I wonder O.O Will she reject him? Accept him? Kill him? FIND OUT IN THIS CHAPTER! BWHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA**

**Hope: O-O;**

**Kai: *is crazy* XD I is evil. EEEEEVIIIIL I SAY! Do not worry, I do not hate any of you if you get impatient XD I just have been typing some more chapters and thinking long and hard. Trying to make things interesting XD And make some sense. **

Chapter 18: The Response

Hope kept his lips against hers. Her lips were so soft and tasted a bit sweet. Maybe a slight pinch of spice. He felt his nerves slightly melt as he savored the taste and his lips continued to brush her red ones. He never kissed anyone before and to be honest, his kiss was a bit clumsy but still effective. He was afraid to open his eyes and look at her reaction, but he knew he had to. He was surprised she hadn't pushed him away or hit him or killed him yet, most likely because of all the Moogle Mogs she had. He slowly managed to crack his green eyes open to examine her reaction. Her blue eyes were wide in shock and she couldn't seem to react immediately. He felt her lips tremble as if resisting to do something, he looked at her eyes and watched as emotions swirled in them. She then seemed to snap out of her thoughts because she punched him in the rips, launching him to his side of the room and slamming into the wall. Luckily, there was only a dent in the wall instead of a hole. Hope groaned painfully as he fell onto his bed, already missing his lips on hers. He wrapped his arms around his ribs in utter pain, she might of broken a few of his bones for Eden's sake!

"Ow..." Hope mumbled under his breath but he raised his gaze to look at Lightning. Examining her reaction.

Lightning sat there, her left hand covering her mouth, her eyes stretched wide in utter shock. She wasn't saying anything, nor did it look like she was going to move and kill him. The silence stretched out and Hope squirmed a bit. Uncomfortable by the death like silence. He could only hear his own heartbeat, beating loudly and quickly. His face scarlet as he stared at Lightning. Having not moved a inch. He tried to look into her eyes, try and find any other feeling other then shock and surprise, but at just that moment, she closed her eyes and looked away from him. The silence continued, only heartbeats heard in Hope's ears. He watched for any kind of sign that Lightning gave, but there wasn't any. He gulped as he touched his own lips, feeling his nerves there screaming for the soft object that they met with. Which were Lightning's lips. He sighed then finally broke the silence by speaking up.

"Light....." he said softly, but anyone was able to hear it in this treacherous silence.

Hope watched as Lightning finally seemed to snap out of her thoughts then she suddenly rose. He gulped again when the soldier prowled over to his side, her eyes sharp and cold, and highly dangerous. So dangerous, you could almost see a fire in her eyes and a black aura of doom radiate off her body. He yelped when he felt her grab the front collar of his shirt with her left hand, lifting him up so they were face to face. Fiery blue met a fearful green. Lightning raised her right arm and pulled it back into a powerful punch position. Hope stared at her fist in fear then looked at Lightning. Anger clear across her face. He gulped and he prayed for his life as he shut his eyes tightly. Ready for the blow, but it didn't come. When Hope slowly opened his eyes to look at her, she was clenching her teeth in anger and her arm was slightly shaking, as if some force was holding it back. He tried to look into her blue eyes once again, but she quickly shut them and dropped him on to his bed. She then turned and walked over to her door, wrapping her arms around herself protectivly. Trying desperatly to keep herself together. Again, silence was the only thing in the room.

"Light...." Hope attempted again as he slowly stood up but flinched when he heard a cold reply.

"Stay away from me." Lightning said coldly, not turning around to look at him.

Hope paused a bit. He took a deep breath and tried to cover up the hurt on his face, which utterly failed. "Light.... I--" he said till he was inturrupted.

"I'm going to go out..... for awhile." Lightning said then she opened the door to leave.

"Wait! Light! Please just... answer me! Just say no to my face! Say you don't like me!" Hope begged, eyes starting to water.

Lightning paused and sighed. "Your just a kid... How can I be so blind? I should of seen it... I was getting too close.... too close." she mumbled under her breath, to herself mostly.

Hope looked at her in confustion, then shook his head. "Is that it?! Cause I'm younger?! Or is it something else?!" he said, raising his voice in sorrow, keeping his tears from flowing.

Lightning paused once again in thought. "Goodbye." was her only answer before she exited the room and shut the door behind her.

Hope's eyes widened and bolted out of the room and looked around the hall for her desperately. She was no where in sight. How the hell could she run so fast?! Hope shook it off then ran down the hall as fast as he could. Searching everywhere for her, till he ran outside and to the garden. It started to rain, soon pouring down on him and thundering loudly. Hope's legs soon were tired, sore from the running and his skin was cold from the rain and wind. He kept running.... till he soon fell to his knees. His hands flat on the wet ground as his hair clung to his face. He panted and he bit his lip, letting the tears in his eyes finally fall.

**Kai: Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo**


	20. Chapter 19: What's Going On Here!

**Kai: Hey guys! :D Hmmm what shall happen? This is the chapter where everything is explained :D by Fang mostly O.O but Serah explains a bit about Lightning :D MWHAHAHHA! YAY I HAVE OVER 100 REVIEWS! I AM SOOOOOOOOO HAPPY! THANK YOU FF13 FOR BEING POPULAR XD! I wonder if I will get lots of reviews on the last chapter o.O which is soon. SOON! *cries* but I have other FF13 story ideas :3**

**Hope: Could you get on with it? o.o**

**Kai: Why?**

**Hope: I wanna know what is wrong with Light. O.O and if we get together *blushes***

**Kai: O.O sure ^-^ *throws him in***

**Hope: AHHHHH!**

**Kai: hehehehe**

Chapter 19: What's Going On Here?!

Hope sat at Team Nora's lunch table. Utterly depressed and severly pouting, everyone stared at him with concern. He hadn't seen Lightning in two days now, he didn't see her in class, in the halls, in the cafeteria, and she never came back to their room. He sighed again. He didn't even notice as Sazh came over with wide eyes and started ranting on about something.

"Hey kids! Guess what!" Sazh said in a utter panic.

"What?" Fang yawned tiredly.

"Lightning's gone!" Sazh said loudly, everyone immietly snapping their heads at him.

Hope's head shot up and stared at Sazh then yelled out, "What?!" along with Vanille, Serah, and Snow.

"Well she's been gone for two days Sazh." said Fang with another yawn as she rubbed her eyes and drank a sip of her glass of milk.

"No! I mean she is gone gone! She withdrew from school! Raines was talking about it at a meeting!" Sazh said as he sat down and took a gulp of water.

"WHAT?!" Fang yelled loudly as she stood up and slammed her hands against the table, making it rumble.

Hope couldn't believe it. She was gone..... She left school. She was no longer here. Damn did he make her that mad. Oh great Eden, he regretted telling her, then maybe she wouldn't of left. It was all his fault. Of course, Fang didn't seem to think so.

"Why that little stubborn girl! I swear! She's going to get herself killed!" yelled Fang then was about to bolt away till Vanille tackled her, wrapping her arms around the taller girl's waist.

"Fang! Fang! Calm down! You can't go charging after her yourself!" Vanille begged and tried to soothe the angry girl.

"Okay... What the hell is going on here?" Snow said as he watched them in confusion.

Fang grumbled angrily then glanced around at the other stares. "We better go find someplace quiet. Come on, we'll go to me and Vanille's room." she said then quickly walked away with Vanille still clinging to her.

Hope blinked as everyone stood. He was confused. What was going on and why was Fang so angry? Later, in Fang's and Vanille's room, which looked pretty much identical to his room except their floor was navy blue. Fang and Vanille sat on the bed nearest to the bathroom, Snow and Serah sat on the other, while Hope and Sazh just sat on the floor.

"Okay! Now are you going to tell us where Lightning ran off to now?" Snow said as he stared at the two girls.

Vanille looked at Fang and nodded. Fang sighed then looked at everyone and crossed her arms. "Well..... she is sort of part of the Guardian Force, just like me and Vanille." she started.

"You guys are part of the Guardian Force?!" said Snow in surprise, earning him a smack against the head at his outburst from Serah.

"Me and Vanille were only part of it just two years ago. Lightning was much longer. I believe she started just fifteen years ago, right Serah?" asked Fang looking at the girl.

Serah nodded a bit. "Ya... that was when our parents died because of PSICOM.... they opened fired on a monster.... and killed our parents who were trying to lead us out of the way. When they realized this, they just tossed all those bodies into the water... Light got very angry and swore she would take revenge and protect me. So she joined the Guardian Force at a young age. She was only six." she explained, everyone listening carefully, Hope the most.

Fang nodded. "Ya and seven years ago, was when the Great War ended. According to the records, Commander Cao was one who led a brave assault at the end of the Great War. Lightning was his top general, also helping him lead. Sadly though, he died during it." she said.

Serah sighed. "Yes.... we were best friends with him when we were kids... they were very close." she said.

"Right after the Great War.... the former leader of the Guardian Force died. Someone else took over and everything isn't what it seems at that organizations. They experiment on humans and monsters alike. And you want to know something? There is no 'Monster Nest.' Well unless you count them." Fang huffed at the thought.

"What?!" yelled Sazh and Snow, surprised. "Why the hell would they send out monsters everywhere around the city?!" asked Sazh.

"So they can gain popularity. Keep their status as 'saviors' and cover up the corruption they are doing inside. Their experiments are to control others minds and bodies. It most of the time is quite painful, and they can cause the one experimented on pain at any time. The ones who were experimented on... were me, Vanille, and Lightning. Lightning was experimented on after the Great War, being the top commando. She made a excellent experiment to them." Fang explained as she showed her weird mark on her left shoulder and pointed to Vanille's same strange mark. **(Basically, l'cie marks XD)**

Hope's eyes widened in shock. While Snow yelled out, "Why the hell didn't she tell any of us?!"

"Because it would only put you all in danger. Lightning is the first one experimented on, unstable and could lash out at anytime. Also, cause of her stubbornness, she would go charging into the Guardian Force's main base. Dying in the process. Her solution was to go in alone and pull away any ties she had with anyone, keeping them safe." Fang answered with a hum.

"Why does she have to be so hard headed?!" said Serah angrily, surprising everyone by her sudden anger.

Hope stared at all of them, in deep thought. Basically.... Lightning went to take on the strongest organization on the entire planet by herself? What was she thinking?! This at this point, Hope really wanted to have the power to mind read.

"Light isn't that stupid though!" said Serah.

Fang thought for a moment and shrugged. "Maybe she knows who is actually running things. I dunno it is hard to read that girl. And the bastards might of done something to lure her there." she said.

Hope watched the party bicker about the subject. What were they supposed to do? It's not like they have any proof of any of this. But they couldn't let Lightning go by herself. What are they going to do? Well... what is he going to do more like it?


	21. Chapter 20: Suspense

**Kai: Hey guys! :D Ummm.... This I think is the third to last chapter of this story O.O OOOOO what shall happen I wonder :3 Poor poor Hope. ^0^ *pats his head***

**Hope: O.O *blinks***

**Kai: And guess what.... we get to be with Lightning for just a little bit :D MWHAHAHA!**

Chapter 20: Suspense

Hope panted as he walked through the streets. Staring at a map of his as he walked, passing by people. Hoping that he wouldn't be, once again, kidnapped or pummeled to death. He had finally decided to go and look for Lightning. Everyone else, that he knew of, weren't following. Then again, he decided this when he had been unable to fall asleep the day Fang told us everything. He would toss and turn and have nightmares of Lightning. What if she was in trouble? Maybe she was a expert fighter but she wasn't invincible. Even she can have trouble and even get killed. Plus, well... he was determined to get a straight answer with her, even if he might not want to hear it. He had a small hope in his heart that she might actually have feelings for him. Ya right. He sighed but continued along till he reached a large gate. Inside that gate was a huge building. It stood five hundred feet tall. Hope stared at the tall building. Oh boy, how as he going to find her in there?! It was huge! He was at least three hundred feet away from the front door! The building was wide as it was tall. He mumbled wondering how he was going to get up there. This was going to take awhile, especially with all these guards.

~~Meanwhile: At the very top floor~~

Lightning mumbled something under her breath. She slowly opened her blue eyes and scanned the room. It was completely black, couldn't even see your own hand if you held it in front of you. She grumbled and struggled a bit but she felt her hands in steel containers that were pinned to the wall just above her head. Her hips were pinned to the ground also so she couldn't move the mid part of her body. Her legs were bound together with the same steel container and were pinned to the floor. Her legs were stretched in front of her but she wasn't able to move her legs. The only parts she could move was her elbows, her chest, and her head. After beating every opponent along the way, including some monsters, till she reached to the top floor. There she met her true opponent. Commander Cao.... the first one she shared her heart with in just a spark. Now he was her enemy, he was a traitor to the city, the world, and her. Yet, somehow she knew this... just before the assault at the end of the Great War, he had said he would of wanted to change things and want to make stronger followers. She didn't think of it much at the time though. Too blinded by useless emotions.

"Idiot..." she muttered, clenching her teeth as she felt her mark on her chest sting and send jolts of painful electricity through her body.

When she watched Cao fall to his death that day.... she swore that she wouldn't be blinded again. She was doing great till that boy came along. That stupid idiotic little.... yet... something about him made her loosen her guard. Maybe it was how he reminded her a bit like Serah. She got too close to him though... and he got too close to her. She was confused of these, strange 'feelings.' She had them before but those were many years ago and they soon left her memory. All she knew was confusion. Why couldn't she answer his question? It should be a simple no but she couldn't utter the word. Strange... she never had trouble before. This boy though..... so strange. She muttered as his smiling face appeared in her mind and she tried to shrug it off. There is no point now. She was going to die. She wasn't expecting to be out beaten by her former commander. At least to managed to slice his right hand off. She hated being trapped like this, it made her feel weak, she despised that. She was mostly resting right now, tired from all the battles. Cao made one mistake, she had gotten stronger too and she might be able to brake these steel traps. She raised her head a bit when she heard footsteps.

"Ah.... dear Lightning. It is good to see you well." said a voice through the darkness.

Lightning adjusted her eyes when a small spotlight lit right onto the person. It was Cao. The long dark haired man with those snake green eyes. His face smooth and strong and his body muscular but lean. He wore a blue general outfit. His eyes looking at her in amusement. His left hand missing, replaced with a mechanical one. Lightning looked up at him in defiance.

"Don't underestimate me Cao..." Lightning said coldly as she looked at his green eyes with her blue ones.

"Wouldn't dream of it dear Lightning..." Cao purred and chuckled. "Still as reckless as ever I see? Remember you can't take on everything yourself. Even for good intentions. Forget my lessons already." he grinned.

"You won't be saying that when I slit your throat." Lightning replied as cold as ever.

"Hmmm we'll see. Let's see if I can make you scream instead of giving me that look." Cao said then snapped his fingers.

Lightning clenched her teeth as she felt burning run through her body from her chest. Along with electricity. A voice trying to break their way into her mind. It was like being electrocuted while you had a unfamiliar voice screaming in your head to surrender. Lightning wouldn't have it though. She bit her lip and didn't even close her eyes as she glared at Cao angrily. Cao shook his head making a tsking sound.

"So stubborn. Beautiful yet stubborn." Cao chuckled as he bent down and placed a finger under her chin and forced her head to tilt upwards to look at him, faces just inches apart. "Well... you could always join me. Be my wife, you'd make excellent children, though I'm not sure you would be a great mother. But that is why we have maids I suppose. How about it Lightning? Or should I call you Claire?"

Lightning glared then bit his finger, hard enough to draw blood and he instantly pulled away. "Never. Don't call me that." she growled.

Cao hissed as he looked at his injured finger. "So be it." he said coldly then lifted his hand to snap again and make her pain even more painful till someone busted through the door.

"Light!!!!"

Lightning's eyes widened at the sight of the person at the door. It was the boy that made her 'feel' and feel uncomfortable. Hope.


	22. Chapter 21: The End Is Near

**Kai: Hey guys! :D Soooo here's like the very last chapter**

**Raines: She's lying, she writes Epliogues. **

**Kai: Shut up Raines! What if I don't want to? Huh? I could leave it here! I demand reviews if you do want the Eligoue, XD! This one has so many already! :D**

**Raines: *shrugs and shakes head***

Chapter 21: The End Is Near

Hope stared in horror at the sight of Lightning, she still looked strong and indipendent, but Hope sensed that she was in pain. His gaze landed on the man standing over her, his fingers in position to snap. Hope almost shivered when both Lightning and the man looked at him. Lightning looked dead shocked, and a bit angry at him. Hope stared at the man who soon stalked over to him, towering over him. He was maybe two heads taller then Hope. Hope shivered a bit at the cold gaze but he shook it off and glared up at the man.

"Well well.... what do we have here? I was at least expecting Serah or Fang to be charging in here. Not a little boy like you. I am Cao, pleasure to meet you." Cao said in amusement and mockingly as he stared down at the boy.

"I'm Hope but I don't think it's a pleasure to meet you." retorted Hope as he glared up at the man.

"Ohhh, dear Lightning, did you find a little boy for to play with? I guess he would make a good test subject. My experimental little mouse." Cao said with a grin and Hope blinked a bit at that.

"If you touch him..... I'll make sure to experiment on you with my blade." Lightning growled threatenly, which surprised Hope severly.

"We'll see." grinned Cao then punched Hope across the face.

Hope yelped slamming into the ground but he quickly rolled out of the way as Cao took a slash at him with a sword. Hope then stood, taking out his boomerang like weapon and holding it in front of him to block his next attack. Weapons clashed with each other making a loud clanging noise. Hope was pushed back, he did a back flip in the air and threw his boomerang like weapon at Cao who quickly slashed the weapon away. Hope neatly caught it and landed clumsily on his feet, but better then he would before he met Lightning. He grunted when Cao smoothly ran over and kicked the younger boy in the gut, sending Hope flying into the wall. Hope grunted then fell to the ground, face first to the ground. Hope growled as he stood up again slowly.

"Hmm such a weak thing. I have no time to mess with children." Cao said with a huff then snapped his fingers and several monsters stepped out and roared in fury.

Hope glanced around as he was soon surrounded by metal Behemoth's and wolf like robots. He gripped his weapon tightly, prepared for the worst till there was a huge explosion at the doorway. Hope turned and looked to see who it was then his eyes widened to see Snow, Fang, Vanille, Serah, and Sazh with readied weapons.

"Guys?!" Hope gasped in surprise.

"Can't let you have all the fun now can we?" grinned Snow.

"She might be a bit distant, but she is still my sister." smiled Serah.

"And we didn't think a kid could take this on alone now, right Chocobo?" said Sazh and the Chocobo in his head chirped in agreement.

"You and Lightning are our friends! And friends stick together!" said Vanille happily.

Fang swung her spear like weapon in a battle position. "We'll what are we waiting for? Let us get this party started, shall we?" she grinned.

Hope then watched as the party launched into battle with the monsters. He smiled in apprieciation then glared over at Cao who looked quite annoyed.

"Hmm fine then... I guess I'll have to have my new pet settle this with you." Cao grinned then snapped his fingers once again. Once again a electric shock shot through Lightning, she clenched her teeth and closed her eyes till she held still.

"Light!" Hope yelled loudly running over to her and kneeling down to her level.

Cao huffed in annoyance. "She just won't give in." he mumbled as he thought.

Hope growled, wrapping his left arm around Lightning and holding his weapon out in front of them protectivly. "She's never going to give in for the likes of you." he said in defiance.

Cao then grinned. "If not me... how about to you?" he said then he took Lightning's sword, then threw it right towards them.

Hope's eyes widened. He stared in horror as the blade came rushing at them, but then Lightning reacted. She used her free elbows to hit Hope across the face and knock him away and the sword drove right through her torso. Hope grunted at the strong impact as he went flying a few feet away, then he stared in horror as blood splurted out of Lightning, her own sword drove inside her.

"Light!" he yelled, ignoring the pain in his head from the impact.

He watched as Lightning clenched her teeth from the pain, scowl at Cao's amused laugh. She struggled once again, finally able to break the bonds on her hands then took her sword out of her torso, then slashed at the metal on her hip and feet. Freeing them soon then she swiftly stood up, ignoring the hole in her stomach and the blood staining her clothes. Hope stood quickly.

"Light! Don't move!" Hope said loudly.

Lightning simply grunted as Cao laughed loudly.

"Lightning, Lightning. What ever shall we do with you? Do you honestly think you can defeat me in your condition? Your suppiror? I think not." Cao said mockenly to the woman.

Lightning clenched her teeth and held her sword in her hands firmly, eyes narrowed dangerously. "I can handle it just fine." she replied, her blue eyes flashing dangerously.

Hope examined the injured soldier, badly hurt but brave and determined to keep going. His eyes narrowed and he stood up next to her. "I'm here with you. She isn't alone and we can take you down." he said with newfound determination.

Lightning glanced at him, blood trickling down her mouth, but she did not complain. She simply nodded then looked at a amused Cao.

"We'll see about that." Cao said then took out his sword.

Lightning charged quickly, but Cao quickly blocked the attack and went to hit her in the stomach, but Hope quickly stopped his hand by throwing his boomerang weapon and hit him right on the hand. Cao hissed him pain then knocked Lightning away then pulled out a gun shot at Hope. Hope quickly ducked and covered under the rain of bullets while Lightning swiftly knocked the gun out of Cao's hands. Cao cursed under his breath and blocked another attack from Lightning, getting into a lock combat with her. Hope quickly ran over and hit Cao in the back, making the man elbow Hope in the chest. Hope grunted but then he grabbed the man's arms to distract him for Lightning. Lightning saw the opprotunity and swiftly took her sword and drove her sword deep withing Cao's chest. Cao screamed in pain as he soon fell to the ground. Lighting wrapped her left arm around her waist, while her right hand held her sword that was dug into Cao's chest. Hope panted tiredly as he stared down at the man, watching as death took place once again.

".......It seems....I have failed.....by my former apprentice....and a child...." Cao coughed with a amused grin. Then looked up at Lightning, who's eyes were glazed over. "But maybe..... I'll take you to hell with me, eh?" he chuckled a bit at the thought, till his eyes glazed over in death.

Hope stared for a moment then flinched when he heard a thud, and he swirled around to find Lightning lying on the ground on her side. Her sword stuck in Cao's chest. Her eyes closed and her breathing soft yet harsh. Hope's eyes widened and he dropped his weapon and dropped himself to the ground next to her. Holding up the upper half of her body in his arms. He looked down at her face with worry and concern.

"Light? Light?! Light are you okay!?" Hope said worriedly as he watched her closely.

No answer came.

"Light.....I'm sorry... I'm sorry I... forced that kiss on you... I know you don't like me in that way and I'm sorry if I hurt you... I truely am but... I really do love you... I just thought you should know." Hope said quietly as tears came to his eyes and then he closed them, not wanting to see her still face.

He then blinked when he heard her rasp voice.

"....I like you..." mumbled Lightning.

Hope blinked a bit and looked down at her. "What?" he asked.

"I like you... now shut up...." Lightning answered with a grumble, seeming to only rest.

Hope blinked in confustion. "But...."

"I'm not good with feelings.... so just shut up...with saying sorry...." Lightning grumbled then slowly opened her eyes to look at him then slowly lean up, bringing her hand to the back of his head and kissed his cheek. Then he layed back down and closed her eyes.

Hope blinked then smiled, happy to hold her in his arms. She had such a weird way of speaking out her feelings, but that's what makes her Lightning. The woman he fell in love with.

**Kai: The End**

**Raines: Epliogue**

**Kai: Lots a reviews for epligue XD**

**Raines: -.-**


	23. Epilogue

**Kai: Hay guys! :D Soooooooooooo here is the Epilogue! The very final chapter XD SO QUIT TELLING ME TO UPDATE DX GEEEEEZ nah jk XD but geez you guys always ask me to update even after I update like three chapters in about a hour XD Impatient. And people who dislike my writing and me rushing, just don't read. Simple as that. Cause yes I know rushing is bad but I do it because I have no time then everyone gets mad that I don't update. So if you don't like my 'paragraphs' or my 'rushing' or my grammar, well don't read. Simple resolve, and my beta reader will fix my grammar mistakes as best she can after I finsih. Plus it's not like i'm actually getting paid for this and at least I don't talk like this, 'I luv u svo fery brunch!' and yes I have read fanfics that typed like that. So yes... here is the Epilogue ^_^**

**Raines: Finally.**

**Kai: Shut up Cid! XD**

**All Cid's from Final Fantasy Games: What? o.o**

**Kai: Not you guys XD Cid Raines.**

**All Cid's: Oh o.o...**

**Kai: Anyways.... Moving on XD And omg I got called a bitch xD woooow**

**Raines: Why are you laughing? Shouldn't you be 'no i'm not going to write the epliogue now'?**

**Kai: No because that was Discord XD Discord is suppose to be meanier. HAHAHA XD and it made me giggle.**

**Raines: Your officially a lunatic.**

**Kai: I know ^-^ ehehhehee XD**

Chapter 22: Epilogue. The End.

Five years have passed since that day with the battle of Cao. Hope could remember it clearly, after the battle, Sazh called for Cid Raines, who was actually a secret agent waiting for the right opprotunity to bring Cao down, and he took care of all the experiments. Though, the experiments could never be cured, now that Cid was gone, the experiments should be able to live normally.

It took a full week for Lightning to fully recover from her injuries, but the doctors and Serah wouldn't let her go and move around for a month. She was back to her old self of course, but Hope had been trying to open her up since she managed to admit that she 'liked' him. Everyone had graduated from Chocobo College School.

Gek and Zeeke were bar tenders down at the Moogle Lodge, Snow was a police officer who had won respect over the years, Serah was a nurse, Vanille was also a nurse and a animal caretaker and often raises chocobos, Fang was alongside Vanille and did small jobs for everyone around the city, and Sazh lived normally back at school and happily at home with his son Dajh. Well as for Lightning and Hope.... well Lightning had gotten closer with her sister Serah once again, though still didn't go and live with her after Serah and Snow married just a few years ago. Already having a child a year ago. Fang and Vanille lived together on Gran Pulse, also happily married.

Hope had been a train soldier of the Guardian Force for awhile, studied medicine, and helped around the city and got rid of monsters. Lightning made money by going on bounty hunts, Hope often coming along with her.

Sure, Hope could of lived with his father, but he decided to stick with Lightning, it took a lot of begging to have Lightning finally accept him in living in the same house as him, but she eventually gave in and was tired of his begging. So Hope managed to by a nice house for them, separate bedrooms of course. He didn't want her thinking he was a pervert again. Hope was now nineteen years old, and was quite handsome. No longer was he a boy, now a man. Well, Lightning still referred him as a boy.

He looked around the same but his muscled had been built up into a well toned body, a smooth face and was now a head taller then Lightning. His face was a bit more manly, though his eyes still shined brightly as they did when he was younger. Lightning was now twenty six, but she hadn't changed at all. She looked as if she hadn't aged at all. Still as beautiful when Hope first laid eyes on her.

Since the time when they moved into the same house together, Hope has been determined to get Lightning to say something other than 'I like you.' Not once did she say the word love. No matter how many times they went out together, to training, to the parks, to the garden. Hope would ask if she loved him like he loved her and she would simply anwer with 'I like you, quit asking.' Hope found it amusing how she seemed to avoid the question.

She did tell him that she had simply forgotten how to react to feelings, so he wanted to teach her and open her up. Show her soft side to him. Okay, yes he felt selfish that he wanted her all to himself, but he couldn't help it. Hope had changed over the years, he was more confidence and determined. He was stronger and bolder, except around Lightning. He still got nervous around her from time to time, but he was bolder then he was when he was fourteen.

Hope yawned as he opened his front door and closed it behind him when he walked inside. It was a simple home, not too fancy and not too poor looking. White walls decorated with some pictures of monsters and their friends. Red carpeted floor, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a kitchen and a livingroom. Hope wore a white T-shirt with skin tight blue jeans. He blinked as he saw Lightning, in her usual attire, sitting on her bed in her bedroom. Examining her weapons. Her room was a lot like how their door room use to look like. Several weapons and accessories and body armor. Hope smiled as he gently knocked on the side of the door frame, Lightning glancing up at him.

"Hi Light!" Hope greeted with a smile.

"I told you, you can call me Claire... if you wish." Lightning answered gruffly and closed her eyes while rubbing some cloth on her sword.

Hope chuckled. He had managed to get her to tell her real name, a year ago. He wasn't quite use to it yet though.

"Sorry, Claire. Just use to calling you Light." Hope smiled as he walked over to her and sat down next to her.

Lightning simply nodded. "Either name works." she answered calmly.

Hope smiled as he looked at her beautiful focused yet calm face. Lightning cracked a eye open to look at him. Catching him staring at her.

"What?" She asked quietly, keeping her nerves under control. He did get rather.... attracting over the years.

"Just watching. Your still as beautiful as ever." Hope chuckled then watched her roll her eyes.

"You've been hanging around Snow too much." Lightning answered with a grumble. Looking away from him.

Hope shrugged then took a daring move and leaned in and kissed her neck gently, feeling her stiffen under the touch.

"Hope...." she said with a dangerous tone but to only cover up the embarrassment.

"I love you. Do you love me, Light?" asked Hope, enjoying her scent.

There was a long pause. Till Hope managed to hear a small whisper, utter from Lightning's lips.

"I love you.....too... Hope..." was the quiet reply. Hesitant and unsure of the word. As if it was a foreign being or a person with two heads.

Hope blinked a bit at the whisper. Surprised to what he thought he heard. Did she just admit that she loves him? He leaned away to look at the soldier's face, but her head was turned away so he couldn't see it. Hope blinked again but smile and cupped her face and forced her to look at him. He smiled gently at her.

"I'm glad.... finally you do." he said quietly then leaned down and locked his lips with her in a passionate kiss.

Again, Lightning's lips slightly trembled but this time, she at least didn't punch him away. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around his neck, while he wrapped his arms around her slender waist. Hope had longed to feel these lips on his once again. Dreamed of it even. Now... they were and he felt like he could die happy. He nibbled gently on her bottom lip and he sensed that she forced herself to suppress, to her, idiotic sounds. He smiled in amusement and felt them fall on to the bed, her below him. He broke the kiss after awhile for air. He looked down at her as his hands pinned her against the bed.

"Well..... at least this time you didn't punch me." Hope slightly smiled in amusement as Lightning looked up at him. A bit uncomfortable at this unfamiliar position.

"Hmph.... Maybe... you still have a lot to learn though." Lightning responded, soon flipping them over so she was pinning him down. Even if Hope was a better fighter now, he still couldn't match Lightning.

Hope blinked and tried to struggle out of her grasp but she had both of his hands pinned above his head, only using her left hand. Hope grinned sheepishly up at her, in defeat once again. Lightning slowly curled her lips up into a smile, amusement rolling into her eyes as she bent her head and kissed his lips gently. He felt her soft lips nibble his gently yet a bit harsh at some moments. Hope couldn't help but moan a bit at the treatment, shivering at her touch. Damn, he was the one supposed to be doing this but she was more... independent and dominate he guessed. And hell she was a good kisser. Lightning broke the kiss and looked down at his flushed face with slight amusement.

Hope panted and looked at her. "...are you good at everything?" he asked with a small grin.

Lightning seemed to think about the question for a moment.

"Not everything. Close though." she replied with slight amusement as she smiled a bit.

Hope smiled back and kissed rubbed her cheek with his thumb. Life couldn't be happier then this.


End file.
